With a tragic error in judgment a Greensboro electrician was electrocuted Monday while working at the University of North Carolina’s Greensboro branch. As more details come to light in regard to this terrible accident, it appears that his standard safety protocol may have been not followed.
According to campus police they were changing some light fixtures and putting in new junction boxes. Paul Lester with the UNCG Police Department explained it this way, “He was unaware that the box he was working with still had power, and then he got into some electrical wires.”
Although the victim’s name has not been released, campus police say he was employed by Powertec Electric. They are a Greensboro-based company that had been subcontracted to do the electrical work for a remodel project inside the Elliot University Center on UNCG’s campus. Mark Schumacher, an employee that works in UNC Greensboro’s library said, “They were going to make it a Starbucks-Barnes and Nobles.”
Evidently, campus police say the victim’s co-workers attempted to revive him with CPR before first responders got to the scene, but he was not responsive. He was taken to Moses Cone Memorial Hospital where he was classified as “dead on arrival”.
According to Campus Police the investigation into the incident is closed. No charges have been filed. Greensboro Police Department also responded to the scene, but school officials said officers have determined no further investigation was necessary.