A Southwestern Electric Power Co. employee died Tuesday while working on an electrical box in a Bossier City neighborhood in Louisiana.
William "Tommy" Lawrence, 42, of Benton, was working alone in Tiburon neighborhood when he died. A colleague found his body by a ground box, Bossier Parish Coroner Dr. John Chandler said.
An autopsy to confirm the cause of death was conducted Wednesday afternoon. Autopsy findings were pending.
Chandler said Lawrence was working in a pedestal-type box when he died. Lawrence was wearing safety gloves but the fatal injury came just above where the gloves stopped, Chandler said
Swepco spokeswoman Carey Sullivan said Lawrence was married with two children. He had worked for Swepco for 22 years.
A childhood friend says Lawrence seasoned their friendship with lessons and laughter.
Shreveport native Jake Toloso met Lawrence, nicknamed "Teeter", in 1990 at Twin Lakes Summer Camp when Toloso was 10 and Lawrence, then 14, was a counselor.
"Over the next ten years we worked and goofed off with the rest of the knuckleheads in Mooringsport, Caddo Parish," Toloso said via Facebook. "He taught me how to restring a Zepco and run a bush hog while always wearing a wry smile accompanying a devious laugh."
Toloso commented on Lawrence's commitment to keeping the lights on for people, saying, "Done in the worst of the elements it’s a tough job to keep our homes, businesses, streets, and hospitals powered often with little notice until something goes wrong. Tommy was always a hard worker and he will be missed by many."
Tommy was born on March 20, 1976, and passed away suddenly on July 10, 2018. He had worked for SWEPCO for 22 years and served as the Financial Secretary for IBEW for the last 21 years.
He was an amazing husband, father, brother, son and friend. Tommy was a selfless, giving man who impacted the lives of so many. A friend described Tommy as "the most genuine person he had ever met, he made me a better person." He touched so many lives and will be missed by all who ever met him.
The way Tommy lived his life was admirable. He was truly a man's man. He loved duck hunting, fishing, camping, boating, and spending time with his friends, but most of all he loved being with his family.