PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — Jesse Getford knows all three of the linemen who were electrocuted Tuesday in Pinellas County while installing new power poles, but he is closest with Matt Waldrop, who recruited him to become a lineman, too.
“(He just said, ‘it might be fun for you, you know, get to hang out with the guys,’” he recalled Waldrop saying. “We’d spend a lot of time working together, and, I mean, we always had a good time, kept it light, it was always fun.”
Which is why he’s struggling to comprehend having to make a GoFundMe page for Waldrop while he remains hospitalized at Tampa General Hospital.
“He’s got a long road to recovery, but he’s got good friends, and everybody is in his corner right now trying to get him back to being 100%,” Getford said.
Deputies responded to a small power station next to Suncoast Chrysler Jeep Dodge on Park Boulevard North and 85th Lane, where there was a report of a man who was electrocuted.
The sheriff’s office said 30-year-old Justin Bryan was on the ground, assisting with 27-year-old Jeff Busch and 31-year-old Matthew Waldrop with placing a new pole on the ground. The three crew members, along with the boom operator, were struggling to get the pole placed properly.
Deputies said the boom operator was closing the claw to get a hold of the pole before the claw hit one side of the pole, causing it to hit a power line.
Witnesses told 10 Tampa Bay they heard an explosion, which caused the ground to catch fire, sending smoke into the air.
Bryan was pronounced dead at the scene, while Busch and Waldrop were taken to a local hospital for severe burns.
A family friend set up a separate GoFundMe for Bryan, and another did the same for Busch.
The men worked as crew for Primoris Services Corporation, who were working as subcontractors for Duke Energy. A spokesperson for Primoris said:
“We express our deepest condolences to the affected employees and their loved ones. We are cooperating fully with relevant authorities as an investigation takes place and have launched our own internal review into today’s events. At this point, it is not possible to determine causation. Any commentary on the work being done under the contract would be premature until we have sufficient evidence.”
A Duke Energy spokesperson sent this statement regarding the incident:
“We are saddened by the tragic incident that happened today in Pinellas County involving Duke Energy contractors,” the statement read. “Our hearts go out to them, their family, communities and co-workers. The safety of our employees, contractors and customers is the highest priority at Duke Energy.”
The incident caused roughly 14,000 customers to lose their power; however, it has since been restored, according to the Duke Energy outages map.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was notified.
PCSO said the incident appears accidental and that there appears to be nothing suspicious, but the investigation is ongoing.
