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A 41-year-old Escondido man stringing power lines near Lake Morena was electrocuted Tuesday afternoon when the wires short-circuited, sending a high-voltage current through the radio communications headphones he was wearing. The victim was identified by Deputy County Coroner Everett Mauger as William George Petroff, an employee of the R.C. Hughes Co. Mauger said Petroff was in an open area installing aluminum electrical transfer lines, and was standing on a trailer operating a hydraulic system when the incident occurred about 1:45 p.m. For unknown reasons, one of the lines slackened, sending a current through the trailer. Although Petroff was grounded, an electrical impulse flowed through the headset and into Petroff’s left ear, Mauger said. Petroff was declared dead at the scene. The California Division of Industrial Safety is investigating the accident, Mauger said.

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