A witness to a tragic accident in Carthage called 911 shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday and reported that a man had just been electrocuted when his tractor-trailer came into contact with power lines.

Despite the efforts of medical personnel, the injured man was pronounced dead at Rush Memorial Hospital a short time later. The identity of the deceased was not released pending the notification of family members, believed to reside in Ohio.

The emergency call resulted in multiple units dispatched to the former Carthage Mill, 212 South Main Street, Carthage. Once on the scene they found the unconscious male lying next to his tractor-trailer on the north side of the structure.

“We were one of the first units to arrive and were unsure if the scene was safe initially. Once the area was deemed safe, we began CPR on the individual,” Carthage town Marshall Dan Murphy said.

The former paper mill is in various stages of being demolished with much of the structure being sold as scrap metal.

A construction worker assisting in the demolition process told officers from the Rush County Sheriff’s Department that the accident occurred as the Ohio man was dumping a load of metal and his tractor-trailer came into contact with overhead Duke Energy power lines.

After realizing what had occurred it is believed the man exited his vehicle, completing the electrical circuit that led to his death.

“This is a very tragic accident, although I can’t say anything more at this time until ISP Motor Carrier Division personnel gets here,” RCSD deputy Richard Gosser said.

Assisting at the scene were units from the RCSD, Carthage Police Department, ISP, Carthage volunteer fire and medical personnel, Raleigh medical personnel, RMH Ambulance and Duke Energy.

Read more on this story as information is made available.

Frank Denzler can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 ext. 106 or via e-mail at frank.denzler@rushvillerepublican.com. To add a comment to this story visit our Web site at www.rushvillerepublican.com.