Worker electrocuted while working on Wapello Street Bridge

By MATT MILNER Courier staff writer

April 25, 2008 10:59 pm

— OTTUMWA — It appears a man will survive an electrical accident that occurred Friday on the Wapello Street Bridge.
The accident happened at 1 p.m. Crews have been working on the bridge deck for several weeks as part of upgrades by the Iowa Department of Transportation. Cramer & Associates, Inc., a company based in Grimes, is doing the actual work.
Robert Cramer, the company’s president and chief administrative officer, said Michael Crabb was electrocuted when a finishing machine rubbed through the insulation on a power cord. That caused a short circuit that arced through the machine and into a railing. Crabb was in contact with the railing at the time.
Ottumwa Firefighter Richard Damm said he responded with a truck to the scene and found Crabb on the bridge deck with co-workers already performing CPR.
“We got to the patient, who was unresponsive, not breathing and had no pulse,” Damm said.
Firefighters intubated Crabb to secure an airway and hooked him up to an automated external defibrillator. The AED administered a shock, but did not restore his heart to a normal rhythm.
Firefighters continued to perform CPR until an ambulance arrived. The ambulance crew used a second AED to administer another shock.
“It appeared after that second shock that the patient did show favorable signs,” Damm said.
The ambulance transported Crabb to Ottumwa Regional Health Center for treatment. He was later taken to Des Moines for further treatment.
Cramer credited the work crew for a quick response in both breaking the short circuit that injured Crabb and beginning CPR immediately. He said crews on the bridge will abandon the power cords in favor of small generators for the remainder of the project.