A high school baseball coach and his wife were killed Sunday via electrocution at the school’s baseball field.
The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Liberty County High School baseball coach Corey Crum and wife Shana Crum were killed when a boom lift the coach was operating touched overhanging power lines. The coach was reportedly working on installing a new scoreboard to replace one that had been damaged by Hurricane Michael.
“Our scoreboard fell over basically and was destroyed by Hurricane Michael,” school board member Kyle Peddle, whose son is a member of the baseball team, told the Democrat. “So we had ordered a new scoreboard. It had come in and so him, along with a few of the baseball players were out working on that and he was on some kind of lift and he got into an electrical line.”
When the boom made contact with the power lines, the boom lift was electrified. Shana Crum rushed to aid her husband, and in an attempt to save him was also electrocuted. The couple’s 14-year-old son was injured as well after an attempt he made at helping his parents, though he is expected to recover.
The Liberty County sheriff’s office released a statement, which said that some members of the team and community volunteers were present at the time of the incident. Students were bused to the high school’s gymnasium, where the School Board had made grief counselors available.
Crum was in his first year coaching the Liberty County High varsity baseball team, after previously coaching the junior varsity team.
In a statement, the sheriff's office said: "This is a tragic event which has rocked our community to its core. We ask for prayers and respect for the family, students and parents involved."
