Medical examiner says man was electrocuted

HONOLULU, HAWAII - The Honolulu city medical examiner's office has concluded "low-voltage electrocution" was the cause of death of a man who collapsed last month at Kapiolani Boulevard and University Avenue.

Michael Perron Jr. collapsed February 18 as he stood on an iron access panel to an electrical box and then touched a streetlight pole.

City spokesman Bill Brennan says some of the insulation in the access box appears to have been worn. He says the electrical wires in the box feed electricity to area streetlights.

According to experts, touching a pole while standing on an access box with live wiring and faulty insulation would cause electricity to flow through a person's body.

The 42-year-old Perron was taken in critical condition to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.