Power line sends shock to worker 2 hurt as boat mast hits high voltage

PENOBSCOT – Two men were injured Thursday after the mast on a sailboat they were moving connected with a high-voltage power line just after noon.

The two men, employed by Devereux Marine on Route 166, were taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Bryan Smith of Bucksport, who is about 18 years old, appeared to have suffered the more severe injury, according to Hancock County Sheriff’s Deputy Ken Mitchell. Smith’s co-worker, William Stevenson, also of Bucksport, who Mitchell said was in his 30s, was not directly struck when the electrical current surged down the mast and sailboat.

Mitchell did not think the injuries were life-threatening to either victim. “It certainly could have been a lot worse,” he said.

A nursing supervisor at EMMC said late Thursday night that Smith was in fair condition, and Stevenson had been treated and released.

Mitchell said Smith was on the ground operating a small custom-built crane at the Devereux boatyard and Stevenson was posted on top of the boat when the mast connected with the 34,500-volt power line.

Stevenson had let go of the mast just before it landed on the wires, but Smith was not so fortunate, Mitchell said. He said the electricity surged down the boat and burned through the crane wires and into the controller that was being held by Smith.

Smith fell to the ground, with the controller still in hand, Mitchell said. Stevenson jumped off the boat, injuring his foot, as he rushed to help his friend.

The LifeFlight helicopter was called to the scene, but turned back without landing at the recommendation of ambulance crews at the scene, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he didn’t know why or how the sailboat mast was allowed to come into contact with the power lines.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration arrived at the scene later Thursday afternoon to investigate the workplace accident. A spokesman at the Bangor OSHA office declined to comment on the incident pending further investigation.

Attempts to reach the owners of the marine company were unsuccessful.

David Allen, spokesman for Central Maine Power Co., which services the Penobscot and Castine area, said the accident knocked out power to 1,600 customers for about two hours. Allen said the company was able to section off the area of the boatyard in order to restore power to all but 750 customers.

Power service had been restored to all customers by late afternoon, Allen said.

He said that while a typical residential power line carries between 4,000 and 12,000 volts of power, the lines running down Route 166 are high-voltage because they carry electricity for the entire peninsula.

According to Mitchell, neighbors near the boatyard heard the accident and ran to the boatyard to help. They called police on cell phones.