Firefighters, police and others work at the site of a collapsed sidewalk at the Heathrow Woods subdivision in Lake Mary, Fla., on Friday, Aug. 28, 2020. A county worker was killed and three firefighters were injured during the rescue attempt. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Republished August 28, 2020 - 1:03 PM
Original Publication Date August 28, 2020 - 11:16 AM
LAKE MARY, Fla. - A county worker was killed and three firefighters were injured after a sidewalk in a Florida suburb collapsed on Friday, officials said.
A county environmental service department employee was working on a water main leak beneath the sidewalk in Lake Mary when it collapsed, officials said.
Responding firefighters tried to use a hydraulic extraction known as “Jaws of Life" to remove concrete slabs from the worker, but they were unaware that wires from a transformer ran directly into the hole and they got shocked, Seminole County Fire Chief Otto Drozd said at a news conference
“So at the point they moved part of the sidewalk to give the victim some relief, ... the hole became energized, electrocuting several of our firefighters," Drozd said.
The three firefighters were taken to a hospital as a precaution and were in stable condition, Drozd said.
The environmental service worker wasn't immediately identified.
The death is being investigated as an accident, said Kim Cannaday, a spokeswoman for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
Lake Mary is located about 20 miles (32 kilometres) north of Orlando.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020