Investigators said they can't prove a man thought to be stealing copper wire with another man at an EPB substation was at the scene, let alone if he left the other man to die.
"Right now we don't have enough proof or evidence putting that person there with him," said Lt. Tim Carroll, head of the Chattanooga Police Department's major crimes division.
But the family of Clyde Mosier Jr., who died after being shocked at an EPB substation, is speaking with attorneys about the man who left, his sister said this week.
Joanna Mosier said she thinks the man should be held accountable for abandoning a dying man and not calling proper authorities. If he had, she thinks her brother might still be alive -- or that she and other family members may have had time to say goodbye.
"There was seven hours that we could have been there with my brother to comfort him or tell him how much we loved him. And that man took that away from us," Ms. Mosier said. "If it would have been the other way around, my brother would have died with that man before he left him there."
Mr. Mosier died Nov. 29 after he and another man allegedly attempted to steal copper wire from an EPB substation in Hixson. Mr. Mosier became tangled in the wire and was shocked, at which time the other man, seen on video surveillance, fled.
Chattanooga police were called to the scene on a report of a robbery in progress and found Mr. Mosier hanging from the wire by his leg. He later died at Erlanger hospital.
Because the high-voltage wire still was live, authorities couldn't do anything for Mr. Mosier until the power could be shut off.
Local authorities cannot prove the identity of the man at the scene and, even if they could, the highest charge he might face would be theft, Lt. Carroll said. State law only requires people to render aid during a traffic accident, he said.
"There's no law requiring somebody to call," Lt. Carroll said. "Common sense should prevail. You should do that if you're there."
Or login with:
New Account