Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 83, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1909 — GEORGE ROBINSON FALLS 35 FEET—BADLY HURT. [ARTICLE]

GEORGE ROBINSON FALLS 35 FEET—BADLY HURT.

Comes In Contact With Lire Wire While Working On Telephone Line—One Side Paralyzed. George Robinson, of Connersville, son of Mrs. G. M. Robinson, of Rensselaer, while working at the top of a telephone pole Friday, came in con-j tact with a live electric wire and fell thirty-five feet to the ground. His mother went to Noblesville upon receipt of news of the accident. She writes back that both his arms are injured and that one side of his body is paralyzed.

Robinson is married and after the accident he was removed to his home. He was employed by the Light; Heat and Power Co., of Connersville. A Connersville paper has the following account of the accident; George Robinson, employed by the Light, Heat & Power Company, received a severe electric shock while up on one of the company’s poles, on Western avenue, between two and three o’clock, this afternoon. The force of the current knocked him from the pole and he fell heavily to the earth, thirty-five feet below. Just how he happened to receive the current is not known, but it is thought that his shoulder touched a

live wire around which he was working. He was known as a very careful workman and has had many years of experience in dangerous repairing. His fall was seen by several persons in the neighborhood. A physician and an ambulance were called at once and he was removed to the home. Though badly hirrt no bones are broken. He was still conscious after his heavy fall and was able to give a fairly clear account of his accident. His principal injury is to the spine, which was badly wrenched by his contact with the earth, and which has caused him excruciating pain ever since. The extent and seriousness of the hurt is still doubtful. In addition to the injuries already described, his right shoulder and arm was very painfully burned by the electric current, and- his right limb is almost helpless. This latter condition is thought to be a result of the electric shock rather than of his fall. He was treated and cared for at his home as well as the case admitted, and, considering the serious nature of his hurts he is resting fairly well. Robinson is married and has one child. The family live in East Con- . ÜBfHTfflgr-* ;—rr— •