Crane accident injures man, knocks out power in No. Utah County


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CEDAR HILLS — Two construction workers narrowly escaped serious injury Monday morning after their crane came in contact with a high-voltage power line. That accident also caused a power outage throughout the north end of Utah County.

From a blown-out tire to melted plastic and burned sod, even a trench in the dirt, it's very easy to see the path the electricity took after a crane working at the Cedar Hills Golf Club got too close to a high voltage power line.

"These guys were lucky they weren't electrocuted," said Lone Peak Fire Capt. Joe McRae. "They swung their crane around and came in contact with 130,000 volts (of electricity)."

Just before 9:30 a.m., the operator of the crane was inside the cab, and another worker was standing near the truck. It is unclear if the boom actually made contact with the power line or came close enough to make the electricity arc.

"A lot of times that power will conduct through that truck; and if they are touching the truck and the ground, they are electrocuted," McRae said.

The operator of the crane was not hurt, but the worker standing nearby was hit with flying debris.

"It had conducted the power through the truck and it blew out one of their tires, causing injury to one of the workers, severing an artery in his arm," McRae said.

Paramedics were able to stop the bleeding and rush the man to the hospital. He's expected to make a full recovery.

Investigators said the workers were trying to move lumber from inside a fenced area to the construction site of an expansion of the golf course's clubhouse. City officials are very relieved there wasn't a tragedy here this morning.

"We did get lucky today. There were no fatalities, (but) it was a close call for sure," said Cedar Hills City Manager David Bunker.

Neither worker involved in the accident was identified by fire officials.

The power outage caused by the accident lasted about 20 minutes.


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