10:30am | A tree-trimmer was repeatedly electrocuted by power lines while working in an east Long Beach neighborhood on Saturday, and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Authorities would not release the victim’s name, saying only that he was a male between 20 and 25 years of age.
The man was trimming cedar trees in the area of Monlaco Road and Nipomo Avenue and harnessed himself to a bundle of harmless cable wires for support. He was equipped with a trimming tool with a long fiberglass handle, and the metal at the top of the tool came in contact with high-powered wires about 15 feet off the ground. When the man touched the fiberglass handle, he was shocked with what firefighters said was about 2500 volts.
Neighbors heard the commotion and watched in horror as the man stumbled in an out of consciousness, repeatedly coming in contact with the handle and shocking him between four and six times. Firefighters were forced to wait for Edison to arrive and shut down the power before the man could be rescued. It took about 30 minutes to bring the man down.
Captain Steve Raganold said that the man was in critical condition and could not say how bad the burns were. Witnesses said the man was moving as he was loaded into an ambulance.