MEC&F Expert Engineers : Tree cutting worker in a lift was electrocuted to death after he touched a 7,200 volt power line with a gas-powered pole saw in Warren County

Monday, October 10, 2016

Tree cutting worker in a lift was electrocuted to death after he touched a 7,200 volt power line with a gas-powered pole saw in Warren County

 








By Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com
 
on October 09, 2016 at 1:02 PM



A Warren County man who died while cutting tree limbs is believed to have been electrocuted, according to the Warren County Prosecutor's Office.

Authorities identified the victim as Sean Loprinzi, 48, of the first block of Washington Avenue in Oxford Township.

He was working on the tree limbs at the property of friend Craig Erhard at 41 Snyders Lane in Oxford shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday, said Prosecutor Richard Burke.


A man suffered life-threatening injuries in the accident in Warren County.

Loprenzi was in a lift and touched an electrical wire with a gas-powered pole saw about 20 feet high. The wires were determined to be carrying 7,200 volts, Burke said.

"We assume it was known there were wires," Burke said. "We believe he was trying to stay away from it. We're not sure if there was a slip with the saw."

Rescuers administered CPR at the scene. Washington Township police, as well as the Warren County Prosecutor's Office, were called at 1 p.m.

Loprinzi was taken by ambulance to St. Luke's Hospital in Phillipsburg, where he was pronounced dead at 2:34 p.m. Saturday. An autopsy was conducted Saturday night.

Officials believe Loprinzi died from electrocution, however the autopsy results are pending, Burke said. Test results will determine Loprinzi's exact cause and manner of death.