Employees were fixing water main break
A 59-year-old Arlington County employee died after being electrocuted while working on a water main break in northern Arlington.
Arlington County police responded to a call of a possible electrocution at 8:40 a.m. Wednesday, according to Detective Crystal Nosal. One county worker was found dead at the scene. The other had serious injuries and was taken to an area hospital.
Officials later identified the dead man as James Bea, an employee in the Environmental Services department.
He was on the crew that had been working throughout the night to repair a two-day-old water break. Bea and the injured worker had been removing a temporary light that had illuminated the area when their equipment came into contact with a power line.
Rescuers at first were not able to get to Bea because of the live power line. Arlington County Fire and Rescue asked Dominion Power to shut down the distribution line so officials could work at the scene, said Dominion spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson.
Power was cut to about 1,000 people and was restored around 12:30 p.m.
When rescuers got to Bea, he was dead. He leaves behind a wife, a grown child and grandchildren.
“We are mourning the loss of a friend and colleague, and sending our thoughts and prayers for the recovery of the other employee,” said county spokeswoman Diana Sun.
Police had blocked off the area near Old Glebe Road and North Glebe Road.
Workers with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on the scene just before noon investigating the incident, Anderson said.
Another electrocution occurred in the area in August, when a subcontractor working at a Metro bus garage died after being shocked while wiring an air compressor.
