Electrocution & Grounding

I ran into the following Ap story on CNN and thought it worthy of posting here considering the ongoing discussions concerning grounding and the hazards of improper grounding.
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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- A tourist was electrocuted near a Las Vegas Strip casino during a weekend rain storm.

Rebecca Longhoffer, 39, of Louisville, Ky., was walking across a median near the Treasure Island hotel-casino late Saturday when she stepped on a wet traffic signal wiring box and collapsed, authorities said.

Clark County Public Works spokesman Bobby Shelton said a worn wire inside the traffic box may have caused a short circuit.

The victim was not wearing shoes, police Lt. Chuck Mangrum said.

Longhoffer, a computer programmer and mother of four, was visiting Las Vegas with her fiance, who was playing in a billiards tournament.

She was pronounced dead at a hospital.

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Could some of pros on the forum comment on this? Is the box typically gounded in this situation and if it was properly grounded, would it have made any difference since everything was wet and the victim was not wearing shoes?

DWJ

 

If the box was properly grounded and a short developed which energized the metal housing, then the over current protection device probably would have opened and denergized the circuit. Too bad it happened. Proves that grounding is very important and often taken too lightly.

 

Hotarc is correct without proper grounding the box and any other metal in contact with the live wire simply became part of the circuit. If it were grounded the breaker or fuse would have tripped and if they failed then the conductor would have burned in two .