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SOUTH GATE -- Police say a man was killed when he was trying to steal copper wiring, but his brother told KTLA he didn't think that was the case.
Jose Fernando Santillanes, 36, was killed at 4:14 p.m. Saturday when he touched a live copper wire, triggering an explosion and flash fire on a vacant lot, South Gate police Lt. Keith Huff said.
His wife, 33 year old Maria Cortez was severely burned while trying to pull him off the current, and was hospitalized in critical condition, according to Huff.
Police say that after an investigation they determined Santillanes died while trying to steal the copper wire, which was in a locked vault.
Francisco Santillanes, the brother of the deceased victim, says the police are wrong.
In an interview, Santillanes told KTLA that his now deceased brother and his wife were hired to pull weeds and pick up trash in the area, and his brother likely stepped on a live wire on accident while doing his job.
"He's an honest person, he was working to maintain his family in one piece and now we lost my brother and it's possible we're gonna loose my sister in law," Francisco Santillanes said Sunday.
When they responded to the scene police found two small children, ages 3 and 6, in a pickup truck about 15 feet away.
They were taken into protective custody as authorities look for relatives.
The explosion knocked out power in much of South Gate for several hours.
Jose Fernando Santillanes, 36, was killed at 4:14 p.m. Saturday when he touched a live copper wire, triggering an explosion and flash fire on a vacant lot, South Gate police Lt. Keith Huff said.
His wife, 33 year old Maria Cortez was severely burned while trying to pull him off the current, and was hospitalized in critical condition, according to Huff.
Police say that after an investigation they determined Santillanes died while trying to steal the copper wire, which was in a locked vault.
Francisco Santillanes, the brother of the deceased victim, says the police are wrong.
In an interview, Santillanes told KTLA that his now deceased brother and his wife were hired to pull weeds and pick up trash in the area, and his brother likely stepped on a live wire on accident while doing his job.
"He's an honest person, he was working to maintain his family in one piece and now we lost my brother and it's possible we're gonna loose my sister in law," Francisco Santillanes said Sunday.
When they responded to the scene police found two small children, ages 3 and 6, in a pickup truck about 15 feet away.
They were taken into protective custody as authorities look for relatives.
The explosion knocked out power in much of South Gate for several hours.
