Teen Jolted on Electrical Tower Dies

Michael Halsell, the Newbury Park teenager who was critically burned over 85% of his body while climbing a 175-foot electrical tower, died Monday after what doctors are calling a valiant two-week struggle to stay alive.

Michael was pronounced dead at 8:55 a.m. at Sherman Oaks Hospital’s Grossman Burn Center as his parents, Hal and Bonnie, and his brothers, John and Chris, kept vigil at his bedside. The 17-year-old Newbury Park High School senior had been floating in and out of consciousness and speaking to relatives only the night before.

“Before he left, he said that he knew we were there for him, and he loves all of us,” said Chris Johnson, 18, a family friend who spoke with Michael’s mother Monday and had visited him every day since the March 11 accident. “We’re taking it real hard.”

Sepsis, a toxic blood condition caused by bacteria from decaying flesh, gradually overcame Michael’s system. His principal bodily organs finally failed under the stress, said Dr. A. Richard Grossman, the center’s medical director. Grossman, who warned all along that Michael’s chances of survival were slim, said he was moved by how strongly the teenager clung to life.

“You’ve got a 17-year-old boy that has his whole life ahead of him,” Grossman said Monday. “When you get to the point where things are going downhill and there’s no going back, it hurts a lot.

“They [Michael’s parents] had explained to me what kind of boy he was, and they were right,” he added. “He was one strong kid.”

Michael and two young friends were practicing rock climbing techniques on a high-voltage tower near the Ventura Freeway in Thousand Oaks when the accident occurred. A blast of electricity--as much as 220,000 volts--ran through Halsell’s body when he apparently touched or got too close to a coil.

Still on fire, Michael tried to climb down from the tower. His friends coaxed him back up to a metal beam, where he was rescued about two hours later by Ventura County firefighters, who had to wait for Southern California Edison to ground the power lines.

In the following two weeks, doctors at the Grossman Burn Center performed three surgeries on Michael to remove dead skin, muscle and blood vessels from his arms, legs, face and torso. They grafted cadaver skin in its place, and reconstructed his face with laboratory-grown tissue.

After doctors removed the breathing tube from Michael’s throat, he was able to speak to his parents, letting them know that “he wanted to go home,” Grossman said.

But Michael’s condition began to worsen as bacteria from his rapidly decaying tissue spread through his bloodstream. Doctors announced Friday that the teenager was losing his battle.

Michael’s relatives declined Monday to comment on his death, choosing as they have throughout the two-week ordeal to grieve in private. Grossman said psychologists helped comfort Michael’s brothers during the final days, and the family had accepted his passing.

“His mother, she was waiting for a miracle to happen,” he added. “And it got more obvious as this went along that a miracle wasn’t going to happen. She came to terms with it.”

The Michael Halsell Trust Fund has been set up at Los Robles Bank in Thousand Oaks to assist the family with medical expenses.

Times staff writers Jocelyn Stewart and Jack Cheevers reported from Sherman Oaks.