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By Gilbert Lowell
gibby@piedmontgazette.com
Rabid Auburn fan and Piedmont resident, Willie Cartwright was electrocuted when lightning hit one of the oak trees that stand on Toomer's Corner. Family members of Mr. Cartwright claim he was convinced he could rid the tree of the disease which is slowly killing it with his "magical semen."
"Since Willie was 13, he has believed his sperm held mystical powers" said family member Milton Hooks. "He has told me several times that he has raised animals from the dead with his sperm. He even tried to sale it at the flea market as a cure-all but it didn’t pan out."
According to family friend, Thelma Hay, Mr. Cartwright was convinced he was the reason for Auburn's current five-game game winning streak over Alabama. "For the last five years, he has thrown his sperm on the Auburn football players during the Tiger Walk, or as they exited the bus in Tuscaloosa. He was a special, special man and I am going to miss him".
The accident happened late Sunday night during the thunder storm that moved through Auburn. "I saw a half naked man that looked to be pleasuring himself on the tree. He was yelling 'I can save you! I can save you!' when - Boom! Crack! - the lightning struck and then all I didn’t hear anything," recalls Mike Randall, an Auburn student who witnessed the tragedy.
"I was out taking pictures of the storm. I guess I was 30 yards away and I could see everything. The lightning ran down the side of the oak right into the top of his head. The tree was scorched and smoking and he was just gone. He looked like a pile of charcoal."
Police have confirmed that Mr. Cartwright, 28, "was instantly electrocuted by a bolt of lightning".
A spokesman for the Auburn issued a statement saying that they were "extremely saddened by the incident, and urge all of the Auburn family to practice safety during a thunder storm".
Gilbert Lowell covers the state of Alabama for The Piedmont Gazette.
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