Venezuelan man dies after electrocution while setting up 4-H fair

GREENTOWN, Ind. – A Venezuelan man died Saturday from an electrocution while setting up for the Howard County 4-H Fair, the Howard County Coroner’s Office said.

On Saturday, EMS and other first responders were dispatched to a Greentown fire station for a report of an unconscious, unresponsive man who was undergoing CPR. A news release from the coroner’s office said a man, later identified as 36-year-old Jose Julian Garcia Oropeza, was transported to the fire station by fellow officers from the Howard County Fairgrounds.

When emergency services arrived, the press release said advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed. After 30 minutes, Oropeza’s death was confirmed that same evening and the coroner was called to the scene.

The news release said Oropeza was an employee of an amusement company and was setting up for the county’s 4-H Fair at the Howard County Fairgrounds. Oropeza and his co-workers were setting up one of the food stands when they received an electric shock. Oropeza then lost consciousness and was unresponsive.

An autopsy conducted on Monday initially determined that Oropeza died from electrocution. The press release said the final cause and manner of death were still pending.

The case remains under investigation by the Howard County Coroner’s Office, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Howard County Sheriff’s Office.