A Massachusetts contractor was electrocuted and suffered life-threatening injuries on Wednesday morning while hanging Christmas lights, local law enforcement said.
The incident unfolded when a 22-year-old contractor, who was hired by a resident of Wellesley in Boston to install holiday lights on a large tree, had used a 34-foot pole that came close to or touched an electrical line atop a utility pole, the Wellesley Police Department (WPD) said, per Boston.com.
According to the WPD, first responders received a 911 call around 10 a.m. local time reporting that a man had been electrocuted as the contact with the utility line resulted in a powerful electric shock, causing the 22-year-old to collapse.
A 911 caller described the contractor as unconscious and not breathing as a dispatcher gave the caller instructions for beginning CPR at the scene until police arrived, Boston.com reported.
Officers shortly arrived on the scene who used an automated external defibrillator (AED), and after three attempts they successfully restored the young man's heartbeat.
"Wellesley first responders delivered multiple shocks from the AED in between providing CPR and breathing for the victim," the WPD said. "The last shock administered to the victim by the AED appeared to revive him as he regained a pulse."
The man, an employee of NZ Power Wash in Framingham who has not been identified, was then rushed to the hospital, police said. He was first transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital before being transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital.
"He'll be pretty lucky if he survives," Officer Tim Gover told reporters. "He took a big hit."
Newsweek has reached out to the Wellesley Police Department via email for comment.
According to NBC News, a coworker who witnessed the incident declined to comment but confirmed that the man is currently recovering in the hospital.
In response to the incident, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an investigation into the incident, alongside local authorities and the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant (WMLP).
In a statement, per NBC News, the WPD said that "the Wellesley Police, Fire, and WMLP Departments extend our thoughts and prayers to the victim and his family during this tragic incident."
Wednesday's incident comes as the holiday season, while joyous, often sees an uptick in various injuries due to increased activities like decorating, cooking, and traveling.
In 2021, a 31-year-old South Carolina man named Joe Cocco died after falling off the roof of his family home while trying to put up Christmas decorations.
Cocco was in the process of installing Christmas lights in order to surprise his wife and two young daughters when the "horrible accident" occurred, Myranda Stewart, the man's sister-in-law, wrote on a GoFundMe page.
Cocco fell off the roof of the house and was rushed to the emergency room where doctors determined that he had broken his neck. He underwent multiple emergency surgeries but was left paralyzed from the neck down and with little movement and sensation in his head and neck.
Cocco spent more than a week in the ICU, but his condition worsened, and he passed away.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2021, around 160 decorating-related injuries occur each year during the holiday season in the country, with almost half of these incidents involving falls.
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