JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man was electrocuted in Northwest Jacksonville Wednesday, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.
He was later identified as 64-year-old Richard Muncy Jr.
About 5:30 p.m., Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department was called after Muncy's neighbors found him unresponsive in a puddle of water next to the electrical box near the camper trailer where he was living off Pickettville Road.
Police said the box panel was lifted up and the wires were exposed, and the fuse box behind his camper was off as well.
George Ferrell is Muncy's stepfather, the man who raised him and watched as Muncy raised his own two sons.
He said his death was even more shocking because of Muncy's background.
"Jim and his wife when he was married, they managed two mobile home parks in Mayport and he was the maintenance man so he had to do everything, from fixing the floors, the refrigerators, the electrical stuff," Ferrell said.
Ferrell said he never thought he'd lose a son like this.
"The whole family will miss him," Ferrell said. "He was a good man. He had two triple bypass operations. About three months ago broke his leg, and was recuperating at my house in Ponte Vedra and decided to come back here and manage on his own. And then this happened, just boom, like that."
He said he hopes something good will come of the tragedy.
News4Jax went to Thompson Electric to find out how people can prevent electrical accidents.
"It's silent. It's not something that's going to warn you that you are about to do something dangerous," Fred Thompson, owner of Thompson Electric, said.
Thompson said that's one of the risks people take when working with electrical wires.
"One of the biggest things that happens all the time, not qualified people going in panels, going into electrical circuits in the house and basically fixing it to patch it and not actually fixing it to the code or the city requirements," Thompson said.
Thompson said that could lead to fires, and even death, so if it's more than resetting a breaker or turning something on and off, it's best left to professionals.
The Sheriff's Office continues to investigate.