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Michigan utility worker dies after being shocked by electric line

Posted at 9:08 AM, Oct 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-08 09:59:42-04

PENINSULA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Officials say a 51-year-old Consumers Energy worker has died after being shocked by an electric line in Michigan's northwestern Lower Peninsula.

The Grand Traverse County sheriff's office responded Friday to a report of a medical emergency involving electric shock on the Old Mission Peninsula near Traverse City. The utility says James Farrington of Alden was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Jackson-based Consumers Energy says in a statement that Farrington was shocked by an electric line. The death is under investigation by state and local authorities as well as the utility.

Farrington was a journeyman line worker. He joined Consumers Energy after earlier working with Traverse City Light & Power and the Lansing Board of Water & Light.