Verizon Technician Dies After Touching High-Voltage Power Line
A 37-year-old married father of four pre-teenage daughters died after coming in contact with a 4,000-volt power line.
Verizon technician Douglas LaLima, was installing high-speed internet cables on a telephone pole from a cherry picker in Brooklyn, NY, when he was electrocuted. LaLima died at the scene.
“He was a cheerful person, a charming personality,” says a spokesperson from LaLima’s union. “He was always positive. He lit up a room.”
Two co-workers immediately lowered the stricken worker to the ground, but it was too late. He had worked for Verizon for 15 years.
Con Edison of New York electrical workers were investigating how LaLima, who was highly experienced, could have come into contact with the power line.
LaLima is said to have “lived for his family.” His wife, Vienna, 38, had been his high school sweetheart.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 63 people died in 2009 as a result of coming into contact with overhead power lines. Many of these deaths involve unintended contact of power lines with aluminum ladders, long poles or boom lifts.
