news-record.com

DURHAM — Blake Brower Hubbard and two young friends were trooping through marshy woods in West Durham on Saturday afternoon when Blake decided to clamber up a Duke Energy transmission tower that carries high-tension wires.

Blake, 14, was electrocuted and fell more than 75 feet to his death in a hilly, heavily wooded area at the end of King Charles Road, in the southwest part of the city. On a 911 call, one of his friend's said Blake "touched something" after reaching the top of the tower.

"My friend just fell," the boy told the 911 operator. He then told the dispatcher that he did not know where he was.

"We're in the woods," the boy said. "He was on this electric tower. He got shocked. Then he fell off. I think he might be dead."

Before emergency workers and police arrived, the 911 dispatcher instructed the young 911 caller to stay on the phone. He did, while the other boy ran to King Charles Road to flag down paramedics.

Meanwhile, Blake lay unconscious, flat on his back under the electric tower he had fallen from, according to the 911 recording made public late Monday by the Durham Police Department.

The 911 caller told the dispatcher he and his friends were "just going through the woods" near Jordan High School, where they decided to follow a series of electrical towers. The towers abut a federally owned waterfowl management area that is part of Jordan Lake and is managed by the state Wildlife Resources Commission.

"It's like the fourth tower," the boy told the 911 operator before he was overcome with the enormity of what had happened. "Oh, my God."

The paramedics had not arrived, but the boy told the dispatcher, "I got to call my mom."

The 911 operator tried to tell the boy how to check to see if Blake was breathing and how to administer CPR. The boy told the operator he could not tell if Blake was breathing; it is not clear if he tried CPR.

Nearly 9 1/2 minutes passed before paramedics arrived and then appeared to drive past the scene.

"Hello! Come here! Over here! Hello!" the boy shouted. "Where'd the ambulance go? Where the ambulance go?"

When paramedics arrived the boy again told them how Blake fell off the tower after "he touched something."

"Go ahead and call your mother," the 911 operator told the boy.

"I can call my mother?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, go ahead and call your mother," the dispatcher answered.

A memorial service for Blake is scheduled for today at Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill, where he was a student.

Late Monday, Blake's uncle, Dale Hubbard, issued a statement on behalf of the family.

"As we mourn the loss of our dear son and brother, Blake, we want to give thanks to God for his sustaining grace in Christ and we want to thank the community of our friends and family who are supporting us through this," the statement said. "We are especially grateful to students and faculty of Trinity School, where Blake was dearly loved and where he loved to be.

"We welcome your prayers."