Los Angeles firefighters confirmed that a painter died Tuesday, July 15 in Westchester as he rose in a motorized bucket close to power lines.
Los Angeles city fire spokesman Brian Humphrey said confirmed that the painter, who has not been identified as of press time, died from an electric shock but it not determined if it was from coming in contact with any of the Southern California Edison power lines.
The accident took place at about 2:30 p.m. on the 6600 block of West 86th Street, during which time the man was painting an apartment building.
It was confirmed that the electricity in the area is supplied by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; however, there are wires responsible for transferring electricity to SCE customers in a neighboring city.
After the man was electrocuted, SCE crews managed to deenergize the wires in order to allow firefighters to lower the bucket. The victim was immobile during the entire time that the rescue operation took place and was pronounced dead. None of the other workers present at the apartment complex witnessed what happened.
