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Tree trimmer dies after being electrocuted Friday in Overland Park

caution tape
caution tape Getty / iStock photo

A man died after being electrocuted while trimming a tree outside an Overland Park home Friday afternoon, according to Johnson County MED-ACT personnel.

Johnson County firefighters and MED-ACT paramedics responded to a home in the 12900 block of Connell Drive in Overland Park around 2:14 p.m. Friday, according to MED-ACT spokesman Joe Folsom.

There, they found a 30-year-old man in cardiac arrest in a tree.

The man, who had been working as a tree trimmer, was in a harness about ten feet off the ground at the time he was electrocuted, according to Folsom. Overland Park firefighters lowered him to the ground, and medical personnel attempted to resuscitate the man before pronouncing him deceased at the scene.

The man has not been publicly identified.

Three other workers nationwide have been fatally electrocuted on the job in 2024, according to data collected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Since 2017, nine workers have died after being electrocuted on the job in Kansas, according to OSHA data.

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Ilana Arougheti
The Kansas City Star
Ilana Arougheti (they/she) is The Kansas City Star’s Jackson County watchdog reporter, covering local government and accountability issues with a focus on eastern Jackson County .They are a graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied journalism, sociology and gender studies. Ilana most recently covered breaking news for The Star and previously wrote for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Raleigh News & Observer. Feel free to reach out with questions or tips! Support my work with a digital subscription
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