Tragically ironic:
Man dies after suspected lightning strike in Whitewater
WHITEWATER, Wis. —
Whitewater fire officials are investigating a suspected lightning strike that left a man who was clearing trees dead Monday morning.
According to the Whitewater Fire Department, crews responded around 9:56 a.m. Monday to a report of a person stuck in a tree with a possible electrocution injury in the 400 block of South Elizabeth Street.
Firefighters arrived about five minutes later and found an unresponsive man suspended approximately 60 feet high in a tree in a back lot of West Laurel Street.
A crew subcontracted by We Energies was performing tree clearing in the area of South Elizabeth, West Court and West Laurel streets.
The crew's supervisor reported hearing a "loud bang and a flash" and believed the tree had been struck by lightning.
A weather system was moving through Whitewater at the time of the 911 call, and there was no evidence immediately available on scene to suggest the worker contacted energized electrical lines.
Firefighters tried to reach the man using a tower ladder, but the tree's setback from the road prevented access. Members of the tree-trimming crew then climbed the tree and lowered the 29-year-old man, who was wearing a safety harness, to the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Man dies after suspected lightning strike in Whitewater
WHITEWATER, Wis. —
Whitewater fire officials are investigating a suspected lightning strike that left a man who was clearing trees dead Monday morning.
According to the Whitewater Fire Department, crews responded around 9:56 a.m. Monday to a report of a person stuck in a tree with a possible electrocution injury in the 400 block of South Elizabeth Street.
Firefighters arrived about five minutes later and found an unresponsive man suspended approximately 60 feet high in a tree in a back lot of West Laurel Street.
A crew subcontracted by We Energies was performing tree clearing in the area of South Elizabeth, West Court and West Laurel streets.
The crew's supervisor reported hearing a "loud bang and a flash" and believed the tree had been struck by lightning.
A weather system was moving through Whitewater at the time of the 911 call, and there was no evidence immediately available on scene to suggest the worker contacted energized electrical lines.
Firefighters tried to reach the man using a tower ladder, but the tree's setback from the road prevented access. Members of the tree-trimming crew then climbed the tree and lowered the 29-year-old man, who was wearing a safety harness, to the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
