1 roofer killed, 3 injured after ladder comes in contact with power lines, shocking them severely
One roofer was killed and three were injured after they were shocked while working on a roof project in Beaver County on Wednesday.
The crew was working on a restoration project at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church on Adams Street. Eight workers were on the roof at the time of the incident when four of them were moving a ladder that came into contact with power lines, causing the workers to get shocked.
A Duquesne Light spokesperson on the scene told KDKA-TV that since the power lines are going to the church, more power than normal goes through them. More than would go to the average home.
Since the ladder came in contact with power lines, it sent a "severe" shock to the four workers. The other workers immediately called 911. The coroner identified the roofer who died as 28-year-old Victor Garcia of Coraopolis.
"There were three males down in cardiac arrest, paramedics were working on them, one male had some burns and refused treatment, but officers and medics worked on the victims for a while, and they were all transported to Heritage Valley Beaver," said Sgt. Dawn Shane of the Rochester Police Department.
Investigators on the scene focused mostly on the ladder involved in the incident.
Duquesne Light and OSHA are investigating, and police are saying their investigation is finished and they're calling it accidental.
"Sometimes it scares me because they're working on the roof, and I don't want them to fall," said Shelby Kooch, who lives next to the church. "But my prayers are for those people that go electrocuted."