KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities updated their investigation into a downed power line on Wednesday. A downed line electrocuted 27-year-old Nicholas Moeder sometime shortly after 3 a.m. on June 16th.
A news release said that BPU crews responded to a total of 30 downed lines and had crews working for nearly 32 hours in the aftermath of a severe thunderstorm. They received a total of 553 calls the day of the 15th, including three regarding the downed line at Rosedale Park. The first call from the park came in at 4:07 p.m on the 15th.
The release indicated that a crew responded to repair a downed line at 3:29 a.m. on the 16th, the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s office previously said it responded to the electrocution at 3:22 a.m. At an earlier press conference, Bill Johnson with BPU said that the line could have been turned off remotely.
“It is very unfortunate that we did not respond in a time frame that could have possibly prevented this strategy,” David Mehlaff wrote in the release.
He indicated that policies and procedures are being reviewed to ensure they are in accordance with standards held by the American Public Power Association and national Electric Safety Code.
