GREENTOWN, Indiana — An investigation is underway after a man setting up for the Howard County Fair died after being electrocuted over the weekend.
The incident was reported shortly before 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 6, at the Howard County Fairgrounds, on Meridian Street in Greentown. Responding officers found an unresponsive man had been taken from the fairgrounds to the nearby Greentown Fire Station by co-workers.
The man, identified by the Howard County coroner as 36-year-old Jose Julian Garcia Oropeza, of Venezuela, was pronounced dead after around 30 minutes.
Oropeza was working at the fairgrounds setting up for the Howard County 4-H Fair that began Monday, the coroner said.
"According to the initial investigation by the coroner’s office, Mr. Oropeza and others were working on setting up one of the food vendors when they were electrically shocked, and Mr. Oropeza went unconscious and was unresponsive," Dr. Steven J. Seele said in a statement.
Seele said the initial findings of an autopsy conducted Monday "are consistent with electrocution, but the final cause and manner of death are pending the completion of the investigation and forensic lab results."
The Howard County Coroner's Office, Indiana Occupation Safety and Health Administration and Howard County Sheriff's Office are continuing to investigate the incident.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the sheriff's office at 765-457-1105 or coroner's office at 765-456-1186.
(NOTE: The coroner's office initially said Jose Julian Garcia Oropeza worked for the amusement company but issued a correction, confirming he worked for a food vendor.)
