Contractor electrocuted in Wilton identified
By Leslie Lake
Updated Jun 11, 2016
WILTON, CT — Wilton police have released the identity of the contractor who died Friday morning after being electrocuted the previous day while working near power lines.
Police identified the victim as 44-year-old Marco Silva of Danbury, also known as Marcos DaSilva.
The Connecticut Medical Examiner’s Office completed an autopsy Friday afternoon and ruled the cause of death as electrocution.
Silva was a private contractor replacing utility poles for Eversource Energy near 31 Rivergate Drive.
He was employed by KTI Utility Construction of Wilton.
Silva was taken by the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Norwalk Hospital, where he died.
A preliminary investigation showed that Silva was in the process of placing a pole when he fell to the ground from a standing position. Police were called at 12:34 p.m., Wilton police Capt. John Lynch said.
Police said that a follow-up investigation is being conducted between police, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Eversource Energy.
At the scene Thursday, a truck with a large auger could be seen, with the auger arm extended upward near power lines. The road was closed for several hours between Blue Ridge Lane and Pilgrim Trail.
OSHA confirmed it has begun an investigation.
An Eversource spokesman declined comment and deferred questions to the Wilton Police Department.
No further information is expected to be released from the Wilton Police Department, however, the case remains open at this time, Lynch said.
Electrocution is the second-most common cause of workplace deaths in the U.S. after falls, according to OSHA.
In 2014, 74 workers were electrocuted in the U.S., accounting for 8.5 percent of workplace deaths. Falls were blamed for 349 deaths, or 39.9 percent of workplace deaths.