A few odd things in this story:
12,000 KILOvolts? Isn't that 12 million volts?
I presume 12,000 or 12 kilovolts. Media these days are not alway sure what they are reporting. It is more important to get it on the street for ratings sake then getting it right
Who hangs x-mas lights 60' up on power lines?
In many communities, the local POCO hang the community lights because they tap off the local grid for power, they have the equipment for the job, they are or should be qualified to be that close to overhead lines, and it gets them away from the box of doughnuts at the shop.
And why don't things like this happen more often, and every year? Or do they , and we just don't hear about them as much as we should? I think running PSAs about the Do's and Dont's of DIY holiday light installations on local TV stations should be mandatory.
I did not find any stats but accidents do happen. I personnally have not heard of linemen getting zapped while hanging lights. I am presumming that it was a lineman although the report did not mentioned it. One thing about overhead lines, most people, even the the ones with an IQ of a box of crayons stay away them. I would not be shocked (no pundt intended) if it wasn't a lineman though. Lineman have a litte more sense.
