Roofer dies, 1 hurt as ladder hits electrical line in Lawrence
Second man listed as 'serious'
LAWRENCE -- One roofer was killed and another was severely injured yesterday when the 32-foot aluminum ladder they were unloading from their pickup truck came in contact with an overhead electricity distribution line in front of a two-family house on Odile Court, authorities said.
Lawrence police identified the dead man as Roberto Fernandez, 43, a Brazilian national who lives in Lowell. The injured man was identified by police as Yannick Rodriguez, 28, of Lowell. He was in serious condition yesterday at Boston Medical Center, according to hospital spokesman Kevin Casey.
Burn holes in Fernandez's work boots, discarded at the scene by emergency medical technicians, indicated that his body took the full jolt of 7,620 volts of electricity as it flowed through the ladder to the ground, according to one of three investigators from the
The shoes were not insulated, rubber-soled ''safety" boots, which are standard equipment for laborers who work near electricity, said the investigator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
''Electricity seeks the ground, and both aluminum ladders and the human body are good conductors," said Debbie Drew, a spokeswoman for the utility.
Lawrence police Captain Michael Driscoll said the men were working for Johnathan Construction Co. of Lowell and were unloading supplies for a residential roofing job that they were scheduled to start tomorrow. They had unloaded a pallet of asphalt roofing shingles when the company's owner, Hilario Vasquez, stepped around to the side of the house to talk to its owner, Faisal Almawali.
When Vasquez heard the ladder fall, Driscoll said, he ran around to the front of the house to find the men convulsing on the ground.
Vasquez said he was too distraught to talk about what happened.
Drew said that police received a 911 call at 11:10 a.m. Both men were transported to Lawrence General Hospital, where Fernandez was pronounced dead on arrival. Rodriguez was flown by helicopter to Boston.
Drew said the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration was notified about the accident and would conduct its own investigation.
Caroline Louise Cole can be reached at cole@globe.com.
