‘It’s a tragedy:’ Neighbors heartbroken after lineman dies, another injured in Griffin accident

GRIFFIN, Ga. — The city where a lineman was killed while on duty says it will make grief counselors available to employees who need assistance. Another worker was seriously injured in the incident.

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People in the Griffin neighborhood say it’s sad someone lost their life while working.

“It’s a tragedy. It’s really a tragedy. I’ve been seeing them out here working,” David Holcomb told Channel 2′s Tom Jones.

Holcomb says he’s seen Eric Weems and Trent Granger working on power lines on Spalding Street and Little Street recently.

He was saddened that Weems lost his life working on the power project.

“He came to work today. He was planning on going home,” Holcomb said.

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Griffin’s City Manager Jessica O’Connor says Granger suffered serious injuries and is at Grady Memorial Hospital.

“Critical but stable,” O’Connor said.

The city says an equipment malfunction led to Weems dying and Granger’s injuries. Jones asked were the linemen in the bucket of the utility truck he saw at the scene.

“We’re not going to go through those details at this time,” O’Connor responded.

Jones could see the arm to the bucket on the truck disconnected. The bucket was on the ground.

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Carolyn Chastain says she was near the scene and one of the linemen was in the bucket.

“I heard hollering and I thought they were fussing. But it was that cable thing. The thing they were in fell...the bucket. It fell and crushed the one guy and it killed the other guy,” Chastain said.

Jones asked O’Connor how the city deals with employees who are having a difficult time with what happened.

“We lost a police officer in the line of duty in 2014 before I started. So, we prayed together. We grieved together. We’re family,” O’Connor explained.

That was Ofc. Kevin Jordan who was killed while working off duty. The police department named its public safety complex after him.

The city says grief counselors will be available for those who need it.

Consultants will determine exactly what caused the malfunction.

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