Construction worker killed in electrical accident in St. Joseph

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) -- One construction worker was killed and another was seriously injured after metal poles they were moving at a house touched a low-hanging power line.

Ivair Olinpio DosSantos, 20, died in the accident Thursday. He was pronounced dead at a St. Joseph hospital. Marcos Vincius Silva Teixeira, 23, was injured trying to help DosSantos.

The men were employed by a Lenexa, Kan., construction firm that was working in the southeastern St. Joseph neighborhood without a permit, said Cmdr. Jim Connors, police spokesman.

Witnesses said the accident victims were at the side of the home disassembling metal scaffolding. Vinyl siding had been added to the home earlier.

DosSantos swung a long scaffolding pole, and it touched the nearby power line. Teixeira, whose condition was unknown, was injured when he tried to pull the pole from the DosSantos' grasp.

Aquila officials said the line was electrified at 12,470 volts. About 180 homes were without power for more than an hour after the accident.

The owners of two construction companies involved were later arrested for operating without a license, police said.

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Information from: St. Joseph News-Press, http://www.stjoenews-press.com