BRADENTON -- A Pennsylvania power company lineman who was shocked Wednesday afternoon in Englewood remains in the intensive care unit at Blake Medical Center.
Tracy Slaugenhaupt, 53, of West Penn Power was working to help restore electricity to Englewood after damage from Hurricane Irma. He was airlifted to Bradenton and underwent surgery on Wednesday.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family,” said Todd Meyers, a West Penn spokesman. “We made travel arrangements for his family as soon as possible.”
Slaugenhaupt has a wife and three grown children. He worked out of the West Penn office in Clarion, Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, he was working in the 1600 block of 5th Street in Englewood when he was injured, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.
“It appears that he came into contact with an energized power line,” Meyers said. “We are investigating that.”
West Penn Power has about 60 employees working along the Gulf Coast. The FirstEnergy Corp., which owns West Penn and several other power companies, has nearly 1,000 employees in the state.
“These guys were working in very hot, very difficult conditions for many hours a day,” Meyers said. “It’s upsetting and disappointing that something like this happened.”
===============
A West Penn Power employee from Jefferson County was in critical condition after being shocked while working on electric lines in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, West Penn officials confirmed.
Tracy Slaugenhaupt, 53, of Summerville, underwent surgery on Wednesday at Blake Medical Hospital in Bradenton, Fla., according to an update his wife sent to friends.
For the past two weeks, Slaugenhaupt, a 25-year employee of West Penn Power in Pennsylvania, was working in the area to restore power to Florida Power and Light customers, according to the Englewood Sun.
“The electric went in through his right arm and across his chest. It exited through the left shoulder,” Darlene Slaugenhaupt wrote in her update to friends. “He has extensive full burns on his arms, chest, back, shoulders. He has lost a lot of muscle and tissue already. He is in critical condition. He has burns on 36 percent of his body.”
About 40 West Penn Power workers are in Florida in the Bradenton and Sarasota areas, helping with hurricane relief efforts, West Penn Power spokesman Todd Meyers said.
The incident happened in Englewood, about 30 miles south of Bradenton.
“It's been a tough, hard slog down there,” Meyers said. “And as much as we talk about safety, it's a reminder that working with electricity is a difficult, dangerous job.”
Darlene Slaugenhaupt wrote that immediate prayer is needed from everyone.
“We need prayers for him to stay alive, keep his limbs, and to be able to use his arms and hands again,” she wrote. “We think he will have more surgery on Friday and again on Sunday to remove the necrotic tissue and muscle. He's currently intubated, was intubated at the scene, but I'm not sure if they are keeping it in or not. Doctors are concerned about pneumonia. And obviously skin infections would be deadly.
“If he makes it, which we believe he will, it will be many, many operations and months of recovery,” she wrote. “I do not want to lose my best friend. I love Tracy with all my heart and am praying for God to do a miracle and save him, save his limbs, and let him be able to use his arms and hands.”
HIGHLAND, CA (CBSLA) — Isabella Sanchez has always been doted on.
She’s the baby of the family.
But these days, that doting is more out of necessity — not just love.
“We live for Isabella. my husband and I, we live for her. we’re her arms, we’re her eyes, we’re her body,” mom Carina told CBS2’s Tina Patel.
Isabella has been confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak since 2012.
She was 6-years-old then and running for her school bus when she was hit by a car.
It happened at 9th Street and Highland.
Carina admits her daughter had jaywalked. She said it was something many kids in the area did.
“People should always follow rules. me, as a mother, didn’t realize how dangerous this was.” she said.
But the girl’s attorney says the school bus company — Durham School Services — should have realized how dangerous it was. He argues the school should have followed their own rules and alerted the school and the district to the constant jaywalking.
“The school district 100 percent relies on the bus company to report and fix these unsafe conditions that were out there,” says attorney Geoff Wells.
A jury ruled that Carina was partly to blame for the accident but also found the bus company was mostly to blame.
The jury awarded Isabella just over $36 million in damages. Her family says the money will make sure she gets the care and therapy she will need for the rest of her life.
They also want the bus company and parents to make sure safety is their top priority.
“I think getting the word out may save a child’s life or save their life from ending up in a wheelchair like Isabella,” says Wells.
“Use those crosswalks, use those lights. Because they’re there for a reason,” said Carina, “We don’t want this to happen to any other kid.”
Patel tried to get a comment from bus company but said they declined to comment on the verdict.
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Highland Girl Struck by Car While Crossing to Bus Stop Awarded $36M in Lawsuit Against Bus Company
by Melissa Pamer,
Updated at 05:50PM, September 21, 2017
An 11-year-old girl who was left with severe injuries and a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a car while walking to her school bus in Highland has been awarded more than $36 million after her family sued the bus company.
Isabella Escamilla Sanchez is shown in a photo provided by her law firm, Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP.
A jury in San Bernardino reached a verdict in favor of Isabella Escamilla Sanchez on Thursday, according to the family’s law firms, Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP of Santa Monica and the Law Offices of Andy Basseri of Beverly Hills and Rancho Cucamonga.
Sanchez was 6 years old on Oct. 3, 2012, when she was struck by a Subaru Impreza as she crossed the street in the middle of the block in order to get on her school bus.
The girl was being walked to the bus stop by an adult neighbor of her grandparents who was unable to stop her from darting into the roadway, according to court records.
Her neck, pelvis, arm and leg were fractured. The traumatic brain injury she received requires her to have 24-hour nursing care for the rest of her life, the law firm said.
The $36.1 million awarded by the jury will go into a trust for her medical care.
The family sued Durham School Services for “failing to report and prevent mid-street crossings, which is a blatant violation of their own policies and procedures,” a news release from the law firms stated.
Durham School Services is a private company that receives contracts with school districts across the country to provide transportation services. It was founded in 1917 in the San Gabriel Valley, but is now a division of Illinois-based National Express LLC, according to its website.
A spokeswoman for Durham School Services declined to comment on the jury verdict.
Isabella Escamilla Sanchez is shown before the car crash in a photo provided by her law firm, Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP.
Testimony at the five-week trial indicated parents and students regularly crossed Ninth Street in the middle of the block en route to the bus stop that served Bonnie Oehl Elementary School. Parents testified that they didn’t cross at a nearby controlled intersection because “they didn’t appreciate the danger” of crossing in the middle of the block, the law firm stated.
Bus drivers never notified the San Bernardino City Unified School District about the problem, the firm said.
A discipline process was in place to warn students and parents about dangerous practices at bus stops, and violations could escalate to students losing bus privileges, both the school district and Durham School Services indicated at trial. But that process could only be triggered if bus drivers reported problems such as the mid-block crossings, the law firm said.
The jury found that the bus company was 80 percent responsible, while Sanchez’s mother was 20 percent responsible.
The lawsuit was filed in San Bernardino Superior Court in August 2013, with Durham School Services named as a defendant about a month after the initial filing, county records show. The city of Highland, county of San Bernardino, the school and the school district were initially named as defendants, among other parties.
BAYFIELD, COLORADO
A 23-year-old man who was ejected from a man lift at a construction site in Bayfield last week died Saturday.
Roy Vreeland, deputy chief with the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District, said Monday that the man was working with a construction crew contracted by the city of Bayfield to rebuild the Bayfield Parkway over Los Pinos River.
The construction projects are ongoing to replace bridges that date to the 1930s and have been deemed functionally obsolete. The area is “Twin Bridges,” a site near downtown Bayfield, about 20 miles east of Durango.
The man’s family identified him as Brian John Anthony Shaw, known as B.J., of Trinidad.
According to Fire Chief Bruce Evans, Shaw, an employee of Centennial-based SEMA Construction Inc., was trying to fix a man lift that had a wheel that went off the side of a dirt road.
Reports of the incident indicate Shaw had locked himself into the basket before the man lift went off the road.
However, in the process of fixing the lift, Shaw forgot to lock himself into the basket that is at the top of the lift, and he was ejected when the lift went further off the road. He fell about 40 feet and landed on a survey stick that punctured his abdomen, Evans said.
Shaw was the only person operating the lift, Evans said.
“Even with all that safety education, you just have a momentary lapse while trying to fix something, and it just takes a few seconds of not slowing down and following procedure,” Evans said.
Shaw was flown to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood in stable condition. On Saturday, the man died, according to his family.
Evans said he was informed Shaw died of a staph infection, which is common with an open-wound abdominal injury.
“When it’s an open wound, it immediately introduces bacteria,” he said. “It can get out of hand and life-threatening pretty quickly. ... But it surprises me. I didn’t think the injury was fatal.”
According to Vreeland, city officials met in Bayfield on Monday morning to discuss the incident. A public information officer with the Bayfield Twin Bridges Project declined to comment.
Calls to SEMA Construction were also not returned Monday.
Steve Yellstrom, assistant director in Englewood for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency that sets and enforces workplace safety measures, confirmed the agency is investigating the incident but did not have additional information.
Yellstrom said OSHA does have requirements and protocols for workers operating a man lift, but it depends on the specific equipment.
Evans said Shaw had been working with SEMA Construction for about three months and was a “pretty well-liked guy.” He said the CEO and owner of SEMA Construction immediately flew to Bayfield after learning about the incident.
“They tried to find out why this happened and how to prevent it,” he said. “This is not some slipshod company. They’re very conscientious in what they do and frankly devastated that something like this could happen at one of their sites.”
Whitney Shaw, B.J. Shaw’s stepmother, said he grew up in Trinidad and was well-loved by the community. He studied auto-diesel mechanic school at WyoTech, a technical college in Wyoming, she said.
Whitney Shaw said the family recently lost contact with B.J. Shaw, so she was unsure how long he had lived in Southwest Colorado, or what originally brought him to the area.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (WDBJ7) -- A City of Martinsville maintenance worker was involved in an accident on Corn Tassel Trail on Tuesday morning.
Reports say, Tony Davis, a long-time City Public Works employee of 27 years was operating a city-owned tractor-mower at approximately 10:30 a.m., just south of the intersection with Sam Lions Trail when a tree fell from the side of the road onto the mower, seriously injuring Davis.
The tractor then continued a short distance, eventually breaking a utility pole and coming to a stop on the opposite side of the road.
Authorities responded to the accident and transported Davis to the hospital where he died a short time later.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Davis family at this most difficult time," noted City Manager Leon Towarnicki. "Tony was well-like around the city and we are all greatly saddened by this tragic loss."
The accident is under investigation.
=============
Martinsville city worker dies in workplace accident Tuesday morning
Tony Davis worked for the city for 27 years
By Jeff Williamson - Digital Content Manager
Updated: 9:53 PM, September 26, 2017
MARTINSVILLE, Va. - A Martinsville city employee died during a workplace accident on Tuesday morning, according to the city.
Tony Davis, a public works employee with 27 years of service, was operating a tractor mower on Corn Tassel Trail at about 10:30 a.m., just south of the intersection with Sam Lions Trail, when a tree fell onto the cab of the tractor, seriously injuring him, according to a news release from the city.
The tractor continued a short distance south on Corn Tassel Trail, eventually breaking a utility pole and coming to a stop on the opposite side of the street.
Martinsville Fire & Emergency Medical Services MS responded to the accident and transported Davis to an emergency room where he died a short while later from injuries.
The accident is under investigation.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Davis family at this most difficult time,” noted City Manager Leon Towarnicki, “as well as with friends and co-workers. Tony was well-liked around the City Shop and we are all greatly saddened by this tragic loss.”
We are all deeply saddened by the loss of Tony Davis. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time of sorrow.
Copy of Media Release from the City of Martinsville:
Media Information, contact the Human Resources Office: 276-403-5164
Martinsville, VA (September 26, 2017) – On Tuesday morning, September 26, a City maintenance worker was involved in an accident on Corn Tassel Trail, and died at the Emergency Room later that morning from injuries sustained in the incident.
Tony Davis, a long-time City Public Works employee with 27 years of service was operating a City tractor mower on Corn Tassel Trail at approximately 10:30 am, just south of the intersection with Sam Lions Trail when a tree fell from the side of the road onto the cab of the tractor, seriously injuring Davis. The tractor continued a short distance south on Corn Tassel Trail, eventually breaking a utility pole and coming to a stop on the opposite side of the street. Martinsville Fire & EMS responded to the accident and transported Davis to the Emergency Room where he died a short while later from injuries. The accident is under investigation.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Davis family at this most difficult time,” noted City Manager Leon Towarnicki, “as well as with friends and co-workers. Tony was well-liked around the City Shop and we are all greatly saddened by this tragic loss.”
=================
MARTINSVILLE, VA –A Martinsville employee died Tuesday morning as a result of a on-the-job accident.
Tony Davis, a 27-year public works department employee, was driving a city-owned tractor mower on Corn Tassel Trail, near the intersection with Sam Lions Trail, at about 10:30 a.m. A tree near the roadside fell onto the tractor’s cab, seriously injuring Davis, who died after being taken by ambulance to the Sovah Health Martinsville emergency department, according to a statement from city officials.
After the accident, the tractor continued for a short distance south on Corn Tassel before breaking a utility pole and coming to a stop on the opposite side of the street.
The Martinsville Police Department is investigating the accident. However, no foul play seems to have been involved, Police Chief Eddie Cassady said in a phone interview.
Kris Shrader, the Martinsville Fire & EMS Department’s assistant chief who oversees emergency medical services, said the accident seems to have been “a random act of nature.”
The tree appeared to be dead, Cassady said, adding there is no indication that Davis’ operating the tractor mower had anything to do with the accident.
“It appears to be just a bad accident,” he said, declining further comment on the investigation.
City Manager Leon Towarnicki said Davis was well-liked by other city employees.
“He was a super nice guy,” said Fire Chief Ted Anderson.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Davis’ family at this most difficult time,” Towarnicki said. “We are all greatly saddened by this tragic loss.”
Wounded? See a doctor right away if you have a fever, chills, or vomiting.
A 77-year-old Houston woman died earlier this month from a flesh-eating
bacteria, which she contracted after falling into Harvey floodwaters in
her home, authorities said.
Nancy Reed, of the Kingwood area of northeast Houston, died on Sept. 15 of flood-related necrotizing fasciitis,
more commonly referred to as flesh-eating bacteria, after she fell into
contaminated flood water in her home, the Harris County medical
examiner's office ruled.
The disease, which spreads rapidly
through muscle tissue, is typically only seen in people with weak immune
systems, according to the Harris County Public Health office.
A flood rescuer in Missouri City, Texas, located about 25 minutes southwest of Houston, also contracted a flesh-eating bacteria after the deadly hurricane struck, but he survived.
The Center for Disease Control
says between 700 and 1,100 cases of necrotizing fasciitis are diagnosed
in the United States each year, but it says that is likely an
underestimate.
Much of the floodwater related to Harvey -- which
made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane in late August -- has
now receded, but medical experts say the bacteria can remain present on
items that have come in contact with contaminated water.
"People
think, 'Oh, I don't have water anymore, I'm not at risk,'" Dr. Umair
Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health, told ABC's Houston affiliate KTRK. "I think that's the big misnomer."
Reed is the 36th death in Harris County to be linked to Hurricane Harvey, which killed 75 people statewide.
A family friend told the Houston Chronicle that she broke and cut her arm when she fell earlier this month.
After
the injury became infected, she was treated at Memorial Hermann
Hospital-The Woodlands and then taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas
Medical Center, where she died, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Nancy R. Reed
1940-2017
Nancy R. Reed, passed away Friday,
September 15, 2017. She was born January 4, 1940 in Pittsburgh, PA.
Nancy was preceded in death by her husband, Gary F. Reed and parents,
Norman and Agnes Ross. Nancy graduated from Bethany College in Bethany,
WV and was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority. Nancy was an elementary
school teacher before joining The Reed Agency with her husband Gary. She was CEO of LivingTributes.com
and President of the Reed Foundation. Nancy served on many committees
at The First Presbyterian Church in Kingwood: a member of PEO, JE
Chapter; active with the Village Learning and Achievement Center; and
the Upbring Krause Children's Center. Nancy was a kind, caring member of
the Kingwood community and gave of her time and many talents
generously.
She is survived by her son, John F. Reed; sister, Susan
R. Spence (Matt); niece, Elizabeth Mangum; nephew, Ross Spence; and
numerous cousins.
=================
Wounded? See a doctor right away if you have a fever, chills, or vomiting.
Necrotizing fasciitis (neck-ro-tie-zing Fas-e-i-tis) is a serious
bacterial skin infection that spreads quickly and kills the body’s soft
tissue. (Necrotizing means “causing the death of tissues.”)
Unfortunately, necrotizing fasciitis can be deadly in a very short
amount of time. Accurate diagnosis, prompt antibiotic treatment
(medicine that kills bacteria in the body), and surgery are important to
stopping this infection.
Although the media commonly calls it a “flesh-eating infection,” more
than one type of bacterium can cause this rare disease. These bacteria
include group A Streptococcus (group A strep), Klebsiella, Clostridium, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Aeromonas hydrophila. Public health experts consider group A strep to be the most common cause of necrotizing fasciitis.
Infections from group A strep bacteria are generally mild and are
easily treated. But in cases of necrotizing fasciitis, bacteria spread
quickly once they enter the body. They infect the fascia,
connective tissue that surround muscles, nerves, fat, and blood vessels.
The infection also damages the tissues next to the fascia. Sometimes
toxins (poisons) made by these bacteria destroy the tissue they infect,
causing it to die. When this happens, the infection is very serious and
those infected can lose limbs or die.
Good Wound Care Is Important
Common sense and good wound care are the best ways to prevent a bacterial skin infection.
- Keep draining or open wounds covered with clean, dry bandages until healed.
- Don’t delay first aid of even minor, non-infected wounds (like blisters, scrapes, or any break in the skin).
- Avoid spending time in whirlpools, hot tubs, swimming pools, and
natural bodies of water (e.g., lakes, rivers, oceans) if you have an
open wound or skin infection.
- Wash hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand rub if washing is not possible.
People Rarely Spread Necrotizing Fasciitis to Other People
In general, someone with necrotizing fasciitis does not spread the
infection to other people. Most cases of necrotizing fasciitis occur
randomly. The most common way of getting necrotizing fasciitis is when
the bacteria enter the body through a break in the skin. This can
include cuts, scrapes, burns, insect bites, or puncture wounds.
While Rare, Some People Are More Likely to Get Necrotizing Fasciitis
Necrotizing fasciitis is rare. Your chances of getting it are
extremely low if you have a strong immune system and practice good
hygiene and proper wound care.
Most people who get necrotizing fasciitis have other health problems
that may lower their body’s ability to fight infection. Some of these
conditions include:
- Diabetes
- Kidney disease
- Cancer
- Other chronic health conditions that weaken the body’s immune system
Symptoms Start Quickly, But Can Often Be Confusing
People with necrotizing fasciitis often start having symptoms within a
few hours after an injury. The symptoms may seem like another illness
or injury. For example, some people may complain of pain or soreness,
similar to that of a “pulled muscle.” The skin may be warm with red or
purplish areas of swelling that spread rapidly. Some people get ulcers,
blisters, or black spots on the skin. Patients often describe their pain
as severe and hurting much more than they would expect based on how the
wound looks. Later symptoms can include:
- Fever
- Chills
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Vomiting
These confusing symptoms may delay a person from seeking medical attention. If you have these symptoms after a wound, see a doctor right away.
Doctors treat necrotizing fasciitis with IV antibiotics.
People with Necrotizing Fasciitis Need Prompt Treatment
The first line of defense against this disease is strong antibiotics
given through a needle into a vein (IV antibiotics). Antibiotics may not
reach all of the infected and dying areas if toxins destroy soft tissue
and reduce blood flow. This is why doctors often use surgery—in
addition to antibiotics—to remove dead tissue. This surgery is often
critical to stop the infection and must happen quickly.
CDC Tracks Necrotizing Fasciitis due to the Most Common Cause
CDC tracks necrotizing fasciitis caused by group A strep with a special system called Active Bacterial Core surveillance
(ABCs). Since 2010, approximately 700 to 1100 cases occur each year in
the United States. This is likely an underestimate. According to ABCs
data, the number of annual infections does not appear to be rising.
ABCs is an important part of CDC’s Emerging Infections Programs
network, a collaboration between CDC, state health departments, and
universities. By sharing this kind of timely information, public health
professionals can stay connected and look for trends in rising cases.
