Investigators release cause of triple electrocution
The team tasked with finding the cause of the electrocution of three people in Bingham County has finished its investigation.
The ditch became electrified after a ground wire between the transformer pole and the service pole broke, said Chris Jensen, regional manager Division of Building Safety, for the State of Idaho out of Pocatello.
Immediate repairs are being made by Idaho Power, Bingham County Sheriff Dave Johnson said. Once complete, the irrigation ditch will be safe to use again, Johnson said.
Investigators from the State of Idaho, Private Insurance Company, Idaho Power and the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office spent the day investigating the accident.
Johnson said 31-year-old Jacquelyn R. Poulson was reported missing just before 9:30 p.m. Thursday. He says Poulson had left her home in search of the family dog. When she didn’t return, a group of neighbors and family began looking for her along with Bingham County sheriff’s deputies and Search and Rescue.
Johnson said the search ended just before 11 p.m., when Poulson and two others, plus the family dog, were found in an irrigation ditch.
The two other victims were 41-year-old Michael Lance Hicks of Blackfoot and 49-year-old Preston Keith Tarpley. Johnson says they apparently entered the water in an attempt to rescue Poulson, and they, too, were electrocuted.
