Family electrocuted putting up ham raido antenna

Palm Bay electrocution victims identified
Police said the Palm Bay family was electrocuted when a ham radio antenna struck a live power line

Sarah Lundy and Gary Taylor

Sentinel Staff Writers

10:55 a.m. EDT, October 13, 2009


A Palm Bay couple and their 15-year-old son died Monday night when they were electrocuted while putting up a ham radio antenna, police said.

Yvonne Martinez, a spokeswoman for the Palm Bay Police Department, identified the victims as Melville Braham, 55, Ana Braham, 49, and their son Anthony. They lived elsewhere in the city, Martinez said.

Rescue crews responded to a 911 call about the electrocution shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Alaska Avenue, west of Interstate 95 in south Brevard County.

Authorities say the family was attempting to raise the antenna when they lost control of the pole and it struck an overhead power line.

The impact sent 13,000 volts of electricity through the pole the three were holding, Martinez said.
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Palm Bay electrocution victims identified