911 call, pictures and news at link
http://www.wftv.com/news/21277976/detail.html
911 Calls Released After Family Electrocuted
Posted: 10:19 pm EDT October 12, 2009Updated: 6:03 pm EDT October 13, 2009
PALM BAY, Fla. -- Frantic 911 calls were released Tuesday (listen to calls) after a couple and their teen son were electrocuted in a tragic accident Monday night. The calls reveal more information about the incident that claimed the life of a Palm Bay family.
Melville Braham, 55, his wife Anna, 49, and their 15-year-old son, Anthony, were trying to put up a new amateur radio antenna when it fell onto power lines. The accident happened at Melville's mother's house on Alaska Avenue (see map).
911 CALLS: Frantic Calls For Help
SLIDESHOW: Images Of Tragic Scene
The Brahams had amateur radio antennas in their yards. They were trying to put a second one up when the accident happened. Eyewitness News learned that family members couldn't get near them to help. Melville’s mother did have an amateur radio license.
"They were trying to put up an antenna in the backyard and my brother and mom and my dad were holding it down and, um, something happened and something went off and they got electrocuted and they are all laying on the ground," daughter Melissa Braham told the 911 operator.
Melissa and her grandmother were the first to find their family members electrocuted.
An amateur radio antenna had toppled into nearby power lines. Police photos show the charge left singe marks on the patio.
Melissa Braham called 911.
"Grandma don't! Grandma go inside," Melissa said during the 911 call.
The operator warned the women to stand back to prevent an even greater tragedy.
"I don't want anybody to go near them while the power source is still hot. Do you hear me?" the operator asked.
"Yes ma'am. Yes ma'am," Melissa replied.
At Southwest Middle School, where 15-year-old Anthony Braham attended, grief counselors were brought in to help students cope. Outside their home, friends left flowers.
"They are a close family and, like I said, the rest is in Jamaica," family friend Edly Campbell said.
Family friends are trying to make sense of the accident.
"It is a terrible tragedy for anyone to lose three people in their family. It's just so sad," neighbor Shawn Douglas said.
Neighbors say they started putting the antenna up in the daylight but didn't stop after the sun set.
"I had no idea it was electrical until we got over there and saw the three people laying on the ground. So I called 911 a second time to tell them there were casualties. You know, there were people on the ground," neighbor Jim Vallindingham said. "So [the 911 operator] told me that's electric, you back away don't touch anything."
Why the antenna toppled is still an unanswered question. Palm Bay's permitting office says you don't need a permit to put up an amateur radio antenna in the backyard, because federal regulations allow people to.
Neighbors say Melville was putting up the antenna so his mother who lives in the house could communicate with relatives through amateur radio.
Copyright 2009 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Reply With Quote
