-  Photo of a bucket truck via Pixabay

Photo of a bucket truck via Pixabay

The Palo Alto Utilities Department in California has removed a boom truck from service after a lineman died from electrocution. 

At the time of the incident, the utility crew was upgrading electrical transformers on a pole. The lineman, Donatus Okhomina, was alone in a bucket truck when he came into contact with a high voltage line, according to reports from the Daily Post. Utilities Director Dean Batchelor told the Post that he did not know what caused the incident. Batchelor added that the truck used had been in the fleet for a long time before the incident.

Okhomina joined the City of Palo Alto in November, the same month as the incident. According to a statement from the city, he had previous experience as a lineman at Pacific Gas & Electric, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and while serving in the U.S. Air Force. The City of Palo Alto is working with the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal OSHA) for its review of the incident.

The Utilities Department has provided electric, gas, and water services to the City of Palo Alto for over 100 years and has not reported a work-involved death in over 30 years, according to a statement from the city.

Originally posted on Work Truck Online

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