MILWAUKEE (AP) – Authorities say a maintenance worker died when he stuck his hand in a high-voltage transformer at an abandoned mall on Milwaukee’s northwest side.
A Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s report says 37-year-old Victoriano Diaz was working to weld some doors at the former Northridge mall and noticed a door to the electrical box was open. The report says he put his hand in the box and was electrocuted.
Diaz was hired by property owners U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group to clean up the mall and had been working with his three friends on the project for the past year. Diaz’s death comes after the city ordered Black Spruce to demolish the mall saying it is dilapidated and a threat to public safety. The investors group has filed an appeal.