Electrocution blamed in death of man on Las Vegas Strip

Robert Macy

Monday, Jan. 3, 2000 | 2:25 a.m.

A former Stanford University wrestling star whose death was witnessed by New Year's Eve revelers on the Las Vegas Strip died of electrocution, a coroner said Monday.

Tod Surmon, 26, of Menlo Park, Calif., fell and landed on his head after climbing a light pole and grabbing an electrical wire, witnesses told police. He died at the scene as revelers were counting down to the new year.

The official cause of death was electrocution, Clark County Coroner Ron Flud said Monday. Flud said it was unknown whether the injuries suffered in the fall would have been fatal if Surmon had not grabbed the wire.

Some 300,000 people jammed the Strip Friday night to celebrate the new year, with the heaviest concentration in the area where Surmon fell, between the Bellagio and Paris resorts.

Celebrants watched as Surmon climbed the pole, appeared to balance on a section of it, then fell to the ground.

During the evening, numerous revelers climbed light and traffic signal poles. Just minutes after Surmon's fatal accident, a man climbed a traffic signal pole a short distance away, then fell to the ground as the signal light arm gave way. Police chased the man through the crowd and arrested him.

A total of 500 people were arrested on the Strip, most for drunkeness, drug possession or curfew violations.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman criticized the climbers and suggested that something should be done before the 2000 celebration to prevent such actions.

Family and friends said Surmon, a native of Albany, Ore., had always been a daredevil.

Surmon was celebrating the new year with friends just a day after winning at the Midlands Wrestling Championships in Chicago, a major national tournament that put him in contention for the U.S. Olympic team.

After graduating from Stanford, Surmon returned to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant coach and wrestled competitively for the Dave Schultz Wrestling Club, named for the Stanford wrestling champion murdered four years ago by multimillionaire John E. du Pont.