Utilities worker shocked east of Grand Island
By Gretchen Fowler Publication Date: 05/29/03
A Grand Island Utilities Department worker was shocked shortly after 11 a.m. today when he apparently grabbed a wire he shouldn't have. Bob Smith of the Utilities Department said crews were working at a home on Hermitage Place, just west of the Hall/Merrick county line, when the accident occurred. He said city employee Pat Bittner grabbed an energized wire he thought had no power to it. Smith said it appears that the charge went in Bittner's arm and out through his knee. He said Bittner, who was taken to St. Francis Medical Center, was up and walking around after the accident happened but had blistering burns on his arm. "We're extremely grateful, I think, that nothing worse happened. This crew is always very safe, and we take all the precautions we can," Smith said. "I don't know why that wire was energized." Donald Kohtz of the Grand Island Rural Fire Department lives about five blocks from where the accident happened. He said he was cleaning his pool when he heard what sounded like a shotgun. Shortly after, he said, his pager went off. Kohtz said there was no explosion, but added, "The arch of the short circuit will make it sound like an explosion." Neighbors as far away as Bismark Street said they lost power when the accident occurred. The Hall County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident.
