Copper thieves cut down electrical wires

AKRON, Ohio - Thieves in Akron went to great lengths to steal some copper Tuesday night.

Akron police say that they received a call around 10 p.m. of a car being hit by falling electrical wires on Route 224, between South Main Street and Manchester Road. The car sustained a broken windshield, but no one was hurt.

After calling First Energy to the scene, crews discovered that someone had cut some abandoned electric lines. Further investigation by crews at the scene revealed that the person or people responsible had dropped the dead line into a live 23,000 volt line.

The thieves scaled a power pole using very specific tools to do just that. They used the same cleats and harnesses professional line workers use to do their jobs.

According to First Energy crews, if the thieves had been touching any of the wires when this happened, they would have been killed.

Akron Police located the tools used in the theft, including a ladder, bolt cutters, and a hacksaw that had been wrapped in electrical tape. Police also told NewsChannel5 that this kind of thing has occurred before at nearby locations.

First Energy says there is no way to tell the difference between a live electrical line and dead line with the naked eye. They do not know know if this is an inside job or not, but the criminals had intimate knowledge of the lines.

First Energy crews had to replace the damaged equipment and a number of poles in the area.

Police do not have any suspects but are continuing to investigate the incident.