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Sep 8, 2009 8:16 pm US/Eastern
Electrocution Victim's Family Sues Allegheny Power
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP (KDKA) ―
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Carey Goretzkas had just returned from Disney World with her family and was spending the afternoon at home with her two daughters when she was electrocuted.
KDKA
A Philadelphia attorney has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of a Hempfield woman who was killed when a power line fell on her in June.
It alleges that Allegheny Power did not properly maintain a line that fell on Carey Goretzkas on June 2 and also that the utility did not respond in a timely manner when called upon by Westmoreland County 911 dispatchers.
The accident happened on June 2 on West Hempfield Drive. Carey Goretzkas had just returned from Disney World with her family and was spending the afternoon at home with her two daughters.
She went outside around 4 p.m. and a live 7200-volt power line fell on top of her. A frantic neighbor called 911.
Dispatcher: "Ok, are you right by her?"
Caller: "Ummm... I'm looking at her and like... she's on fire."
Because the line was still hot, no one, including the Adamsburg Fire Chief, was able to do anything but watch helplessly.
Dispatcher: "Ok, everybody's on their way. Is there any way you can turn the power off?"
Fire Chief: "No, it's one of the heavy wires up top up off the ground it's..."
Dispatcher: "Ahh... do you think it fell?"
Fire Chief: "...Off the column... Yeah..."
Dispatcher: "Do you think it fell?"
Fire Chief: "It's hot... yeah... something happened it must've fell and had a couple of power surges and she's tangled in the wire."
The 911 Dispatcher tried repeatedly to call Allegheny Power to turn off power to the line, but was not successful.
Dispatcher: "Oh that's nice, Allegheny Power's not answering."
Finally, after two and a half minutes and more than 20 rings, Allegheny Power answered.
Dispatcher: "We have a 50ish year old female, we are not sure how but a high tension wire was downed."
Allegheny Power: "Okay."
Dispatcher: "And came in contact with her, she is wrapped up in the wire, power is still active to the line... she is... the patient is literally smoking and burning."
Allegheny Power: "Oh my (heavy sigh) okay."
Carey Goretzkas was rushed to a Pittsburgh hospital with burns over 85 percent of her body. She died three days later.
"Two and a half minutes that phone rang before it was picked up by Allegheny Energy. And, it's unconscionable that a phone call being made to a power company about a line laying on top of someone was not answered for two and a half minutes," said Shanin Specter, who is representing the Goretzkas family.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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