DTE Energy Officials Investigate Death Of Lineman
CARLETON (WWJ/AP) - Utility officials are investigating the death of a 54-year-old lineman who was electrocuted after coming in contact with a power line in Monroe County.
George W. Ward, of Wyandotte, was burned over much of his body while preparing to work on a transformer June 14 in Carleton, about 25 miles southwest of Detroit. He died two days later.
The sheriff's department said live wires appeared to be down at the time. The wire Ward came in contact with contained 13,200 volts of electricity, police said.
DTE Energy Co. spokesman Alejandro Bodipo-Memba called Ward's death a "tragic situation."
Patty Gore, Ward's sister, said her brother was employed as a lineman for the City of Wyandotte prior to joining Detroit-based DTE and was an experienced and careful worker.
"This is everybody's worst fear," Gore told the Monroe News.
Gore said she was under the impression that DTE had a policy that required more than one worker on the scene at all times to prevent accidents like the one that killed her brother.
"It is a concern that there are one-man crews," she said.
Ward is survived by two adult children, a granddaughter, his mother and another sister.
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