WORKMAN KILLED

Taranaki Daily News, 26 February 1938, Page 6

WORKMAN KILLED

FALL 10 DEVON STREET ELECTROCUTION THEORY MAN WORKING ON LADDER Believed to have received a shock from the overhead tramwires Percy Holmes, a married man aged about 30 years, fell headlong to Devon Street, New Plymouth, from the height of the overhead wires yesterday morning. He was rushed to hospital for an urgent operation but died shortly after admission. Holmes was an electrician in the employ of the New Plymouth Borough Council and was on duty early yesterday morning to disconnect the temporary lighting which has been used to mark the road exeavations where the tram track is being repaired at the Brougham Street intersection. Details of the accident itself are not known as the occurrence was not noticed until the victim crashed to the roadway. It was found that he had his ladder against the overhead wires from which the trams draw their power and it is thought possible a shock caused him to fall- It is not known definitely, however, whether death was actually due to injuries sustained in the fall or to electrocution. It is possible that he may have fallen from the ladder from some other cause, but the belief that he received an electric' shock is supported by the fact that his hands were scorched. 1 Holmes had been in the employ of the council's electric light department for eight years and was an efficient and popular member of the staff. His home was in Lemon Street and he is survived by a widow and three young children.