6-15-2004

This website was given to me from a fellow colleague of mine. I've found it very interesting and educational as a broadcaster.

To my media family...
My name is Jennifer Cavazos, I was the reporter inside the van when Matt Moore was electrocuted. I would like to set the story straight...there have been many rumors and speculations of the tragic incident.

Here's the real story..
    We were on our way to Hearne, Texas because we couldn't get a signal from the nearby town of Franklin (where the story was at.) we were working on a live phoner VOSOT for the six on a gas well explosion..It was a constant drizzle all day.
    I was in the back editing and matt drove to a spot near a football field in hearne to set up the signal so we could feed back the video.
he got out of the van...opened the doors to begin to raise the mast...I was continuing to edit...and we had two interns along with us who were sitting in the front seats.
I heard a spark, matt cussed .. I turned and stopped what I was doing and he tried to get in the truck. with one foot on the ground and one trying to get in..his last words were 'watch out'...words I will remember for the rest of my life... He was knocked back by the electric charge...the mast hit the power lines...we weren't too far from the main transformer power line ... that controlled the power to a football field...can you imagine??? He was knocked back to the sidewalk and began to convulse because of the electricity going through his body... I watched as there was nothing I could do...another image that will be with me for the rest of my life!
    Our interns were scared and panicked...i remained calm, asked the lord to help me...and he did, along with one special guardian angel...Matt!!  I knew from past training that we were safe inside the van...so I told the girls not to touch anything and stay put...I then saw smoke coming from the side of the truck and began to smell fumes. I knew it was time to get out.. I moved up to the front of the truck and told the girls I was gonna open the driver's side door and they needed to jump out as far away from the truck as possible landing on both feet...and not to touch the truck... They did that...I was the last one out...immediately hitting the ground I turned around and all four tires began to burn an electrical fire...destroying everything in its path.
    It was a week ago today that my partner and friend was killed.  I'm thankful I lived to tell about it...and I want to do right by Matt's legacy...in that he was a creative photog...and I want to make sure the stories written about the accident are accurate... The statement made by the officer on the scene was false that because he moved ...that's what resulted in him being killed. He was killed because of the initial bolt of electricity that ran through his body ... not because he moved as they asked him not to...he couldn't help but move...that's a natural reaction to electricity... He was already gone when they tried to talk to him...from what I understand it took 40 minutes for them to even get near Matt.  The girls and myself are doing okay, physically...emotionally it will be a long road ahead...but God will give us the strength to move on...as I know he did with each one of you who was a victim of an ENG accident. I want to make sure this tragedy has one positive ... that photogs, engineers, reporters, directors, producers...etc.. will all learn to take extra precaution...no matter what the deadline...life is too precious and no story is worth a life...
look up and Live!!!
    God Bless You All!!!
   Jennifer Cavazos
KBTX Anchor/Reporter  979.595.1532-direct  cavazos@kbtx.com