Inquiry ongoing in canal injuries
Two men shocked, one dies, in Bricktown accident
One of two men who was shocked in the Bricktown Canal on Sunday night died, and one man remained in critical condition Monday afternoon, according to authorities.
Wesley Seeley, a 23-year-old Tuttle resident, was the man who died, the state medical examiner’s office confirmed. Brandon Gann, 31, of Crawford County, Arkansas, remained in critical condition at University of Oklahoma Medical Center, according to a hospital spokesman.
Just after 8 p.m Sunday near Brickopolis, along the 100 block of Mickey Mantle Drive, one of the men fell into the Bricktown Canal. As he tried to get out of 4 feet of water, the man grabbed a light post, but it broke off.
One witness told police it was Seeley who fell into the canal and grabbed wires hanging near the broken light post. The witness also said that Gann
jumped in the water to try and save Seeley, but was also shocked, possibly by the same wires.
Both men were in full cardiac arrest as they were taken to nearby hospitals by EMSA ambulance, Oklahoma City Fire Department Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson said.
The second man jumped into the canal to help the first, Fulkerson said.
“They didn’t know each other,” he said. “And when we got there, we didn’t know if the water was still energized. We removed the victims with pipe poles so that they wouldn’t conduct any electricity.”
A GoFundMe page set up for Gann raised $480 of $1,000 by late Monday afternoon.
“Our great friend Brandon Gann is fighting for his life in an intensive care unit in Oklahoma City,” the page says. “Brandon,
acting courageously and without regard for his own safety, was injured this weekend helping a person who was in danger. Those of us who know Brandon personally are not surprised that he would place himself in harm’s way to help a complete stranger. That is just the kind of person he is.”
The page says Gann has a new bride.
Incidents of visitors falling into the 4-footdeep canal are not unusual, but have never resulted in any serious injury or death since the recreational waterway opened in 1999.
Kristy Yager, a city of Oklahoma City spokeswoman, said the light post, called a bollard, is one of 80 such lights posted along the canal that were installed in 1998. The light posts are maintained on a daily basis, she said.
“That bollard has been removed and capped,” Yager said.
The remaining canal lights were expected to be on Monday night, she said.