Man killed as conveyor hits power lines

The worker was trying to guide a truck around trees and power lines when a boom attachment hit the lines, electrocuting him.

By ED QUIOCO

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 28, 2000

PALM HARBOR -- Guided by a co-worker, George Mention tried to steer a truckload of roof shingles around trees and power lines.

The 33-year-old co-worker yelled that a tall metal conveyor, called a boom, was going to hit overhead power lines. He tried to get Mention to stop.

Suddenly, neighbors heard a loud explosion, and the power to every home in the neighborhood near Lake Tarpon went out.

The co-worker dropped to the ground, electrocuted.

"He evidently was walking with his hand on the truck, and at the last second he saw that the boom was going to hit the power lines," Pinellas County sheriff's Sgt. Greg Tita said. "He tried to get the truck to stop, but it didn't stop exactly where he needed it to stop. The truck slid forward and hit the wires."

The co-worker, whose name was being withheld until police notified his family, was pronounced dead about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Mention, 27, of Clearwater, was able to get out of the truck without being injured.

"It appears to be a terrible electrocution," Tita said.

The two, both employees of Suncoast Roofer Supply of Tampa, were delivering roofing materials to the house on 165 Lake Shore Drive E. They were trying to position the truck so the boom could be used to carry the materials to the top of the house.

Neighbors who heard the explosion and saw the man lying on the ground called 911.

Don Donsback, 53, was in his back yard checking the battery charger on his boat when he heard what he thought was an electrical explosion. He didn't think anything was wrong until he saw fire engines racing to the scene. "I thought lightning had hit a transformer," he said.

When rescue vehicles arrived, the boom still was touching the wires and the victim was lying next to the left side of the truck. Rescue workers couldn't treat the victim until Florida Power officials confirmed that there was no power running through the line.

They waited about 20 minutes, said Palm Harbor Fire Rescue acting Lt. Thomas Greear, before they were able to touch the victim.

"We are not trained to see if the lines are still charged," Greear said. "It appeared that he was dead when we arrived," Greear said.

The accident left the Lake Shore Estates neighborhood without power for hours.

Suncoast Roofer Supply president Bill Tamayo went to the accident site but declined to comment about the accident. He said Mention was shaken and did not want to talk to a reporter.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.