2 utility workers shocked, taken to hospital

By Meghan Schiller and Jessica Guay/KDKA-TV

Click here for updates on this story

    MCCANDLESS, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — Two Duquesne Light workers were taken to the hospital after they were shocked while working on a utility pole in McCandless.

After a power surge Wednesday, neighbors said they ran outside to find an unconscious Duquesne Light employee.

Jim Vent said he saw his neighbor, who is a nurse, giving CPR to an employee who had been working on a newly installed utility pole on Brandywine Drive.

“He was just unconscious and on the ground. And like I said, the nice nurse neighbor was hard at work on him,” said Vent.

Vent said a power surge happened just before 12 p.m. Wednesday and everyone walked outside to see what was going on. He said he saw some commotion unfolding on Brandywine Drive and when he ran up the street to investigate, he saw the line worker. The nurse who lived nearby started performing CPR while another neighbor called 911.

Neighbors heard a noise, and their power went off at the same time as the accident.

“They had replaced the pole probably a few months ago and they didn’t switch the power lines over, so I think what they were finally doing is they cut the top of the pole and they were just moving the wires from one pole to another pole,” said Vent.

He watched as McCandless police showed up with a defibrillator and said they shocked one worker. He did not see the second worker. He also watched as Duquesne Light crews filled his street and an ambulance sped away.

“They came pouring in to help their buddy and they were very emotional, just what you’d expect,” said Vent.

Duquesne Light sent KDKA the following statement:

“Earlier today, two Duquesne Light Company (DLC) lineworkers working along Brandywine Drive in McCandless Township were injured while performing work on a utility pole. Both employees were transported to local hospitals, and we’re continuing to monitor their conditions.

“The safety of our employees, contractors and the public is always our top priority at DLC. An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway. Our thoughts go out to these employees, their families and their colleagues.

Approximately 30 customers were still without power in that area as a result of the incident. We are working to safely restore service to those affected customers as quickly as possible.”

The power was restored on Wednesday evening, but neighbors are still shaken up.

“I’ve heard transformers kind of explode before. You can tell high voltage zap, it’s like a real powerful zap. That’s when we knew something wasn’t right,” said Greg Mell.

Mell heard the loud noise around lunchtime. When he went outside, he couldn’t believe what he saw in his front yard.

“Came running outside and a gentleman was unconscious in the yard, and another guy was in the bucket of the truck and was also kind of unconscious,” Mell said.

Mell said his next-door neighbor is the nurse who performed CPR on the worker who was in his yard.

“Thankfully, she came over right away and she knew exactly what to do with the chest compressions. He was unconscious, and he started turning a deep purple. The neighbor did the chest compressions and he started gasping for air,” he said.

Mell did what he could to help.

“I was next to the nurse, holding his head, trying to say, ‘hey, stay with us, just stay here.’ You could kind of see in his glove where it was still smoldering where he must have touched the power line, so we were really concerned. I’m hoping he’s doing all right,” Mell said.

As of late Wednesday night, Duquesne Light has not provided an update on the two workers’ conditions.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.