Worker suffers electric shock; seriously injured

By Kipp Hanley

Published: December 3, 2008

Editor’s note: In covering this breaking news, we reported what fire officials initially reported. We corrected our mistake when we realized the error.

A man working on a ladder at a construction site on the campus of Elizabeth Vaughan Elementary School in Woodbridge was hurt by electric shock Wednesday.

At approximately 4:25 p.m., the ladder touched a power line running over the construction site, said Prince William Fire & Rescue Assistant Chief Brett R. Bowman. The man was flown to INOVA Fairfax Hospital with serious injuries, said Bowman.

Firefighters called to the school on York Drive also dealt with smoke coming from the school building. According to Bowman, when the ladder touched the line, the power was tripped to the school’s HVAC system.

The HVAC system had to work harder because it lost part of its power, causing the apparatus to start smoking, said Bowman. After the construction worker was airlifted at an adjacent church parking lot, the school’s power was shut off by Dominion Power.

School principal Lillie Jessie said minimal staffing were still working at the facility during the time of the accident—which came approximately 45 minutes after the children were dismissed from school.

Jessie said she came to the school as soon as she heard the news but was unclear of just exactly what happened.  She couldn’t say for sure whether school would be open Thursday but was optimistic it would be.

The incident caused a brief traffic detour through the adjacent Woodbridge Middle School parking lot. Investigators from Occupational Safety and Health Administration were called to the scene, said Bowman.
Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.