AT&T Worker Electrocuted in Detroit

DETROIT - A tragic scene involving an AT&T worker killed on the job. He was repairing a utility line when he was electrocuted.

It was William Durrah's dog that he says first sensed something had gone awry. He went around back to check it out, and that is when he noticed the AT&T technician, who was working to replace a phone line behind his house, had been electrocuted.

Durrah says it appears an electrical line had fallen on him during the job.

Durrah and his neighbors dialed 911, but it was too late.

It did not take long for DTE Energy and investigators to arrive at the scene on Bramell near Linden on Detroit's west side. The power company is not commenting as it tries to determine what went wrong.

AT&T is also looking into the incident. A spokesperson for them would only say that the company values the safety of their employees and is saddened by this tragic event.

"Everyone thinks about it... when (you're) up on the pole there and you look up and you see (you're) four, five feet away from death," said King Penson.

It is a risk Penson, a fellow AT&T technician, thinks about every day. He did not know the worker who died, but felt compelled to come by when he heard what happened.

"I feel sorry for the guy and his family and everything, and I started thinking about myself. I could have been up there," he said.

Durrah only wishes he could have done more, but is glad his dog alerted him when he did.

"If I (hadn't gone) back there, I think he would have still been back there until... one of his workers found him," he said.

DTE spent several hours not only investigating, but also securing that line.

We also spoke to a member of the Detroit Fire Department who says that on days like Thursday with wind gusts up to 20 to 25 miles per hour, the amount of calls they receive for down lines and live wires goes up dramatically. It is not clear if this played a role, but we are told it is a possibility.