UPDATE (5:20): Pete Piringer tweeted the construction worker has died from his injuries after getting electrocuted and falling into the eight-foot foundation of a home under construction in Bethesda.
UPDATE – Wilmett Rd, 1 injured construction worker was electrocuted & succumbed to his injuries (electrocuted), while the other co-worker is expected to be treated & released, Police will likely conduct a death investigation, MOSH was also notified https://t.co/hbsNxvEGpZ
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) October 22, 2019
Piringer tweeted that Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) has been notified about his death and that police will likely also conduct a death investigation.
ICYMI – residential construction mishap in Bethesda Wyngate neighborhood is fatal, 1 worker was shocked/electrocuted when an articulating boom he was operating likely came in contact with overhead powerline near construction site, he succumbed to his injuries & died https://t.co/HKrZheFJlf
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) October 22, 2019
Original Post:
A worker is facing life-threatening injuries after getting electrically shocked and falling into the eight-foot foundation of a home under construction in Bethesda.
The incident happened on the 6,000 block of Wilmet Road near Ewing Drive on Tuesday afternoon, according to Pete Piringer, the spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS).
Update – Wilmet Rd, Bethesda, Worker electrocuted, @MCFRS_EMIHS w/ patient, fell into 8 foot foundation of home under construction,, CPR in progress, @mcfrs TRT on scene, power line down pic.twitter.com/LiWYuoTUOg
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) October 22, 2019
MCFRS personnel responded to the incident just before 12:30 p.m. Piringer told MyMCMedia that workers were building the house’s foundation and were using a cement truck with a long boom that was used to pour the cement. Piringer said that the boom made contact with power lines and likely shocked the worker who was standing on the ground, causing the worker to fall into the 8-foot foundation on wet concrete, between forming walls.
Rescue workers performed a trench rescue to remove the worker and then performed CPR. The construction worker was taken to the hospital for life-threatening injuries.
Piringer said another construction worker was also taken to the hospital but for an evaluation, but only for an evaluation because he’d been in close proximity to the incident.
FYI – IAO Wilmett Rd & Ewing Dr, Bethesda, earlier construction accident knocked out power in area, @PepcoConnect on scene, all @mcfrs have cleared, PEPCO & PD on scene, isolated power out in neighborhood
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) October 22, 2019
As a result of this incident, Piringer tweeted that the power lines in the area were down. Pepco has been on the scene since MCFRS workers cleared, working to restore power. An outage map on Pepco’s website showed that hundreds of people in the area have been affected.
