Fraser Centre Construction Worker Electrocuted, Causing Power Outage

A construction accident at the Fraser Centre site left one man hospitalized and 1,300 customers without power this morning.

According to West Penn Power spokesperson Todd Meyers, a construction worker was electrocuted when a tool made contact with an electrical wire at approximately 9:30 a.m.

“We got reports that one of the workers who does cement work has some type of tool, like a trough, and he got it up in the electric line,” Meyers said. “There’s been an ambulance dispatched. I don’t know what condition he’s in, but that’s what caused the outage. The main thing is to help the gentleman and try to get that straightened out.”

According to a State College police officer at the scene of a nearby minor car accident, the worker was “conscious and talking” after the incident, which the officers think is an indication that it was not life-threatening. Just over an hour after the accident, work had resumed as normal at the construction site.

Meyers said that 1,300 customers were temporarily without power, but crews have been dispatched and restored the vast majority of those with outages. He said that there are about 75 customers who remain powerless as of 10:30 a.m.

Meyers added that doing work near overhead power lines is always dangerous, and cautioned workers to be cognizant of that danger at all times to avoid incidents like this.

“This just is a reminder for anyone working around overhead lines to make certain to know where those lines are,” he said. “We get this on construction jobs or with roofing contractors. You just need to be extremely mindful where that overhead line is. You don’t need to even necessarily touch that line to cause problems and it can be very dangerous. We sincerely do hope that everything is fine with this gentleman.”

A section of Beaver Avenue, stretching from Atherton Street past the construction site at Fraser Street, was blocked off as firemen and police resolved the situation. The street has since been reopened.