J.H. Crawford v. Consumers Power Company

On May 21, 1975, a severe wind and rain storm passed through Van Buren County uprooting two tall trees that fell against one of defendant's power lines knocking it nearly to the ground. Area residents reported power failures to defendant and a company service repairman was dispatched, who located and replaced a burned-out, 65-amp fuse in the area without investigating to determine what caused the power failure or fuse blowout. Later that evening on the day of the storm, at approximately 10 p.m., the decedent, Sheila Crawford, who was 18 years old, and her sister, plaintiff Susan Crawford Rodriquez, who was 16 years old, and two young male companions drove into a dirt road in the area of the power line failure and parked. Sheila and one of the males left the automobile and walked into a wooded area where they came into contact with the downed electric wire and were killed by electrocution. A short time thereafter, plaintiff Susan Crawford Rodriquez and her male companion were drawn to the area by a fire which they saw. There they saw the partially burned bodies of the decedent and her companion.