A Guatemalan man was electrocuted to death while installing Christmas lights on the roof of a San Diego home last week.
Antonio Pascual Mateo, 24, was left hanging upside down from a tree for an hour after the freak accident.
Rescuers with the Escondido Fire Department responded to a report of a “worker suspended in the air via a waist harness” on Nov. 21.
“It appeared that he had come in contact with some high-power tension lines,” the fire department said.
Fire officials waited for San Diego Gas & Electric crews to shut off the power before rescuing Mateo who was pronounced dead at a hospital.
“He had been working on putting up Christmas lights around the tree. He always took care of his mother and family,” a GoFundMe launched for funeral expenses read.
“Sadly he was electrocuted by the power lines, as he was fixing the Christmas lights. He fell down and stayed in the tree, trapped for an hour.”
“The Rescue team was forced to wait until the power company had to turn off power. Too late to save, forever young he will remain.”
