EL RIO : Man’s Electrocution Is Ruled an Accident
The electrocution of an Ojai man was deemed accidental by the Ventura County coroner’s office Thursday, officials said.
Gary Wayne Lee, 42, was jolted with 16,000 volts of electricity Wednesday while preparing to move a power line at a United Water Conservation District spreading ground in El Rio.
A Cal/OSHA investigation is under way, officials said. Results are expected to be available in several weeks, said Rick Rice, a Cal/OSHA spokesman.
Lee, a foreman at Oilfield Electric Co. of Ventura, was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, said Mitch Breese, senior deputy coroner investigator.
Lee had reached into a truck when a steel attachment came into contact with a power line, sending voltage through the truck, Breese said.
Oilfield Electric had been hired by the United Water Conservation District to move a power line at the 3561 N. Rose Ave. spreading grounds.
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