4 Electrocuted When Flagpole Falls Against High-Voltage Line
The town’s president, two of his sons, and a councilman were electrocuted when a flagpole they were taking down touched a high-voltage line, state police said today.
The men were removing the flagpole Monday night for painting and repairs when it touched a 7,200-volt power line. The pole was outside the community center in this mountain town of 350 people, 75 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Screams from the mother of one victim drew Kathy Lawson to the scene.
“They were still on fire, and I held onto his mother to keep her back,” Lawson said. “The whole town was running over to them, but nobody could get to them because the pole was right over them and electricity was still running through it.”
An emergency crew eventually shut off the power.
Killed were Borough President Robert Friend, 59; his sons, Randall Friend, 23, and Robert Friend II, 22, and Councilman Keith Coppett, 35.
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