October 08, 2024
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5 contractors shocked after gutter strikes power line in rural La Salle County, sheriff says

Grand Ridge fire chief says 5 workers injured – 4 taken to local hospitals, 1 flown to Peoria

By Tom Collins
La Salle Co. Sheriff along with multiple Fire and EMS Companies work the scene at East 15th and North 1659th Road in Bruce Township on Tuesday July 12, 2022. Multiple injuries were reported late Tuesday morning as workers with a home improvement company sustained electrical shocks in rural La Salle County, east of Leonore. The incident happened shortly after 11a.m.

La Salle Co. Sheriff along with multiple Fire and EMS Companies work the scene at East 15th and North 1659th Road in Bruce Township on Tuesday July 12, 2022. Multiple injuries were reported late Tuesday morning as workers with a home improvement company sustained electrical shocks in rural La Salle County, east of Leonore. The incident happened shortly after 11a.m. (Scott Anderson)

Five contractors were shocked Tuesday and had to be rushed to hospitals after an aluminum gutter they were installing struck a power line in rural La Salle County, Sheriff Adam Diss said.

There were no reports of fatalities, but three of the workers suffered possibly life-threatening injuries, with one flown from the scene to OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Grand Ridge Fire Chief Tim Geiger said.

The sheriff’s office, along with multiple fire and EMS companies, were dispatched at 11 a.m. to 1488 N. 1659th Road, at the corner of East 15th and North 1659th roads in Bruce Township east of Leonore.

Work was being done on a three-story home on the southwest corner of the intersection.

Diss said the five contractors, all men, were working on ladders at the residence when they struck the power line with a piece of gutter. The electric shock knocked multiple people to the ground.

Three workers were taken by ambulance to OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa, and one was taken by ambulance to the OSF Center for Health in Streator.

The workers were with Double L Seamless Gutters based out of Roanoke, which declined at this time to comment on the accident.

Responding to the scene were the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office, La Salle County Emergency Management Agency, Grand Ridge Fire Department and Ambulance, Marseilles Ambulance, Tonica Ambulance, Ottawa Ambulance, Illinois State Police and OSF Life Flight.

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La Salle Co. Sheriff along with multiple Fire and EMS Companies work the scene at East 15th and North 1659th Road in Bruce Township on Tuesday July 12, 2022. Multiple injuries were reported late Tuesday morning as workers with a home improvement company sustained electrical shocks in rural La Salle County, east of Leonore. The incident happened shortly after 11a.m.

La Salle Co. Sheriff along with multiple Fire and EMS Companies work the scene at East 15th and North 1659th Road in Bruce Township on Tuesday July 12, 2022. Multiple injuries were reported late Tuesday morning as workers with a home improvement company sustained electrical shocks in rural La Salle County, east of Leonore. The incident happened shortly after 11a.m. (Scott Anderson)