Midwest Energy Lineman Injured in Bucket Truck Accident

HAYS, Kan. – A Midwest Energy lineman making repairs to a power pole south of Great Bend was injured Tuesday morning, when the bucket truck holding him aloft tipped, sending his bucket to the ground.

The injured lineman was part of a two-man crew repairing an insulator on a pole just after 10 a.m., along Southeast 50 Road, five miles south of Great Bend. The truck tipped approximately 45 degrees, and stopped when the bucket contacted the ground. The second lineman was on the ground at the time, and was uninjured.

The injured lineman is not being named pending notification of family, and was taken to Great Bend Regional Hospital by a third Midwest Energy employee. He was later flown by helicopter to St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, where he is receiving treatment.  Midwest Energy is conducting an investigation into the cause of the accident.