LACEY — Police are investigating the death of a Freehold Township man in his early 20s who was electrocuted after his pole saw came in contact with a live power line while he was trimming trees at a Lakeside Drive South residence about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said.
Officials said they were withholding the man's name until his family could be notified. They also did not provide the name of the business that employed the victim or the resident who hired the company.
The victim was in a tree trimming limbs about 30 feet off the ground when the pole saw hit power lines, authorities said.
He fell from the tree, but because he was connected to a safety rope, he was left suspended about 30 feet in the air, witnesses told police.
The victim was taken down by two Ocean County Road Department workers who were riding in a bucket truck past the home where the man was working almost immediately after the accident, police said.
The two, Damon Wiencke and John Payne, were coming from a tree-trimming job in the Forked River section of the township when they saw the tree-service man. When they stopped to help, Payne and Wiencke first made sure it was safe for them to get the man, officials said.
"At risk to himself" Wiencke went up in the bucket and grabbed the man, said police Lt. James Veltri.
Once on the ground, CPR was attempted, and the man was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he was pronounced dead.
The two county workers acted on instinct to help the man, said Steven Childers, county road supervisor.
"It had just happened," Childers said. "It was a tragic event."
The county road department has a specially trained crew, including Payne and Wiencke, who receive extensive training on precautionary measures to be taken while trimming trees. However, they do not handle trees that go through the power lines, Childers said.
"Trimming trees is especially dangerous around the electrical wires," Childers said.
The county uses contractors to do the work on trees that involve power lines, he said.
It is a "very special talent needed to do that job properly," Childers said.
Police officers Joseph Soto and John Simonson and the Forked River Fire Department responded. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is following up the investigation along with Lacey Detective Michael Gudgeon.
Officials said they were withholding the man's name until his family could be notified. They also did not provide the name of the business that employed the victim or the resident who hired the company.
The victim was in a tree trimming limbs about 30 feet off the ground when the pole saw hit power lines, authorities said.
He fell from the tree, but because he was connected to a safety rope, he was left suspended about 30 feet in the air, witnesses told police.
The victim was taken down by two Ocean County Road Department workers who were riding in a bucket truck past the home where the man was working almost immediately after the accident, police said.
The two, Damon Wiencke and John Payne, were coming from a tree-trimming job in the Forked River section of the township when they saw the tree-service man. When they stopped to help, Payne and Wiencke first made sure it was safe for them to get the man, officials said.
"At risk to himself" Wiencke went up in the bucket and grabbed the man, said police Lt. James Veltri.
Once on the ground, CPR was attempted, and the man was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he was pronounced dead.
The two county workers acted on instinct to help the man, said Steven Childers, county road supervisor.
"It had just happened," Childers said. "It was a tragic event."
The county road department has a specially trained crew, including Payne and Wiencke, who receive extensive training on precautionary measures to be taken while trimming trees. However, they do not handle trees that go through the power lines, Childers said.
"Trimming trees is especially dangerous around the electrical wires," Childers said.
The county uses contractors to do the work on trees that involve power lines, he said.
It is a "very special talent needed to do that job properly," Childers said.
Police officers Joseph Soto and John Simonson and the Forked River Fire Department responded. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is following up the investigation along with Lacey Detective Michael Gudgeon.
