Man seriously burned, shocked by power line in Box Elder County

ELWOOD, Box Elder County — A communications employee suffered serious injuries Monday after being shocked by a power line.

It was approximately 1:10 p.m. when Box Elder County dispatch received a call reporting someone had been shocked near 8515 North and 3600 West.

“A 21-year-old man was working for a communications company and in the raised bucket of a boom truck. While installing fiber optic line on a power pole, the material the man was working with either accidentally came into contact with a power line or came close enough to cause an electrical arc,” the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday afternoon.

The man was alone in the boom truck but was helped down by fellow employees on the scene. Chief Deputy Cade Palmer said the man was alert and talking to first responders as he was taken by ambulance to the Bear River Valley Hospital in Tremonton.

“He was in good spirits at the hospital and talking, joking around a little bit. But he was flown to the U of U Burn Center for further treatment,” Palmer said.

Palmer says the man received third-degree burns to both palms of his hands. He was also burned on his right hip where the electricity exited his body.

“They’re pretty serious burns,” Palmer said.