2 Burlington paving workers seriously hurt when dump truck contacts live wires
BURLINGTON - Two members of a driveway paving crew were seriously burned when a dump truck made contact with an electrical wire Tuesday morning in Burlington. It happened around 8:15 a.m. on Carey Ave.
Twenty-year-old Michael Mullane was operating a skid-steer loader when he was shocked. The second man tried to help when he was also shocked.
"The gentleman went to open the chute to fill the bucket of that Bobcat. He got shocked and got thrown out of the machine," said John Biagiotti, a member of the paving crew.
Mullane suffered severe burns from his hands to his feet, along with the top of his head. He was conscious and alert following the accident.
"Definitely life threatening," said Burlington assistant fire chief Andrew Connerty. "Depends on the path it takes through you. If he had two hands on the truck, it could've passed through his heart. Where he had one hand on the truck, it probably passed through him down through his foot."
The second worker, a 35-year-old man, had serious but less severe burns.
Both men were taken to area hospitals for treatment.
A third man was able to rush in and lower the bucket. He suffered minor injuries to one hand.
The men were working with a driveway paving crew for a private contractor at the time of the accident.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) responded to the scene.
Biagotti was emotional describing what he witnessed. "I'm getting choked up, I almost watched a guy die," he said. "It was an accident. We didn't realize the body was touching that wire. It's a high wire. We barely touched it."
Connerty credited the homeowner with their fast actions in calling 911. Rescuers were on scene within minutes. "Before we really knew what was going on, we were on our way," Connerty said.