2 workers hurt in electrical accident in Coventry
08/04/2003 Journal and projo.com staff Posted 11:56 a.m.
COVENTRY -- Two men were injured this morning while working on high-voltage electric lines, officials said. The men were upgrading electric service on Hopkins Hill Road for an Amgen plant under construction. They were moving 7,200-volt electric lines onto new utility poles. They work for Hawkeye Construction of Patchogue, N.Y., which was hired as a subcontractor by Narragansett Electric. They had been working in the area for about six months. Today was supposed to be their last day on the job. Details of the 9:35 a.m. accident are unclear, but one of the men apparently suffered first- and second-degree burns on his face, neck and arms, the Coventry police said. He was taken by ambulance to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. Another worker was taken to Kent County Hospital in Warwick. He apparently was not burned but was shaken up by the accident, which apparently involved a flash of fire. Their names were not available. It is the second serious accident involving high-voltage power lines in less than a week. On Tuesday in West Warwick, two workers were killed and a third was injured when aluminum scaffolding they were carrying came into contact with a 7,200-volt power line. Electric customers in the area today lost power for about a half hour. The accident is being investigated by the Coventry Police Department, the Hopkins Hill Fire District, OSHA and Narragansett Electric. -- With reports from Journal staff writer Meaghan Wims