A landscaper trimming trees in Northboro, Massachusetts, on Wednesday touched high-powered electrical lines and died, officials said.
The man was in his 20s and was working in a bucket truck on South Street with his three-man landscaping crew, hired by two homeowners, when he came into contact with the power lines and was killed, Northboro police said.
Fred Mueller, one of the homeowners who hired the company, described seeing a large, sudden explosion.
The deceased worker has not yet been publicly identified.
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It's unclear what, if any, plans the Shrewsbury landscaping company he worked for was supposed to have filed with the town or power utility company National Grid.
"We don't know whether or not he knew it was a high-powered line," said Northboro police Lt. Brain Griffin. "We hope to find more answers about that."
The landscaping company responded by Facebook to a request for comment and said it was a "tragedy" and they are at a "loss for words."
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Massachusetts State Police detectives were also investigating the death, the Worcester County District Attorney's Office said.
When asked about the incident, a National Grid representative provided this statement:
This morning our crews responded to an incident on South Street in Northboro where a member of the public came into contact with one of our wires. Upon arrival we immediately de-energized the local area so that first responders could safely provide assistance. At this time we have no further details, but we'll continue to work with authorities as they investigate what happened.
Residents said the wires can be difficult to see in the trees.
"They're kind of invisible," Mueller said.
Correction (Sept. 8, 2021: 2:10 p.m.): An earlier version of this story misidentified the utility company whose power line was touched in the incident.
