LOCAL : Santa Ana Youth’s Condition Critical After 12,000-Volt Shock

A 16-year-old Santa Ana youth was in critical condition this morning after 12,000 volts of electricity blasted through his body when a metal radio tower he was trying to install came in contact with a high-voltage power line, authorities said.

Two others who were involved in the incident are hospitalized in serious condition at UCI Medical Center in Orange.

Santa Ana Battalion Chief John Chambers said the bolt of electricity that raced through Sergio Olguin briefly stopped his heartbeat. The current burst holes in Olguin’s hands and feet before exiting his body.

Paramedics revived him before rushing him to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center.

Olguin, his 17-year-old brother, Caesar, and a friend, Carlos Mangana, 24, were installing a makeshift 48-foot tower at their home in the 2000 block of Elder Street when the metal structure tipped and touched the power lines.

The Olguins’ sister, Ana, 21, said the bolt of electricity threw Caesar and Mangana into some nearby bushes. The tower crashed to the ground pinning Sergio’s leg, she said.

“They tried giving him (Sergio) mouth-to-mouth (resuscitation) but he wouldn’t come back,” she said. “Caesar came crawling in the house . . . and we called 911.”

Chambers said Sergio suffered serious exit wounds. Hospital authorities were attempting to determine the extent of injuries to his vital organs.

At UCI, doctors were conducting similar tests on Caesar and Mangana, who both suffered second- and third-degree burns.