Two Masonry Workers Electrocuted in Kentucky

April 11--PARIS -- Two masonry workers were electrocuted Wednesday in Bourbon County when a cherry picker they were in while working on a chimney came into contact with an electrical utility line.

Deputy Coroner DeeGee Ison Roe identified one of the men as William Derek Gilpin, 51, of Lexington. The other man's name was being withheld pending notification of family. The bodies were sent to the state medical examiner's office in Frankfort for autopsies, said Bourbon County Fire Chief Lloyd Campbell.

The accident was reported shortly before noon on Mount Carmel Road, about 8 miles north of Paris, near Ruddles Mills, Campbell said.

The men were in the bucket of the cherry picker to repair a chimney of a house owned by out-of-state residents, Campbell said.

Business filings list Gilpin as the owner of Lexington-based Masonry Medic LLC. Roe said the men had been hired to do restoration work on the house.

As they swung the bucket around, the cherry picker hit a 7,200-volt line, Campbell said.

When firefighters arrived, the cherry picker was on fire, he said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze and then were able to lower the bucket so the bodies could be removed, Campbell said.

A Kentucky Utilities crew had shut off the power to the utility line by the time firefighters arrived, Campbell said. The crew had been dispatched after receiving a call about a power outage in the area. The outage affected 140 customers, said KU spokesman Cliff Feltham. Power had been restored to all by 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Herald-Leader reporter Josh Kegley contributed to this story. Greg Kocher: (859) 231-3305. Twitter: @HLpublicsafey.

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