Rocco Morabito’s photograph won the Pulitzer Prize in 1968 and still moves those who read his incredible story around the world.
This article tells the story of a portrait photographer who, in July 1967, was bored driving near West 26th Street when a stroke of luck turned his career into a success.
Rocco Morabito , a photographer for the Jacksonville Journal, was on his way to cover a minor incident when it all happened.
Two electricians were performing routine maintenance on the power grid when one of them, named
Champion , touched a high-voltage power line at the top of a utility pole. According to UOL, Champion received an electric shock of more than 4,000 volts. The electrician’s heart stopped beating immediately.
To give you an idea, an electric chair consumes the equivalent of 2,000 volts. Luckily, Champion was wearing his seatbelt, and his coworker was nearby at the time of the accident.
Thompson , who was working on the ladder below his coworker when the incident occurred, quickly began
administering first aid , performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
It was at that precise moment that Rocco Morabito’s attention was drawn to the commotion the accident caused among bystanders. The
photographer instinctively stopped his car, grabbed his camera, and began filming Thompson’s attempt to save his companion. Fortunately, Champion showed signs of life shortly after being rescued by his companion and bystanders, before the ambulance arrived and took control of the situation.
Threatened with being fired for failing to cover the event he was assigned to, Rocco Morabito was saved by the photograph he took of the two electricians. The photograph was published in newspapers around the world and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1968. The portrait photographer’s editor-in-chief called it
“the kiss of life .”
