WSB-TV Journalists Survive Truck Mast Hitting High-Voltage Wires

 

ATLANTA, GA (November 19, 2009) – Two Atlanta television journalists are recovering from minor injuries they received Wednesday when the microwave mast of their news truck struck overhead powerlines and caused an explosion, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports today.

WSB-TV reporter Tom Jones and photographer Leonard Raglin were treated and released from Grady Memorial Hospital after the incident.

The two were exiting the parking lot of the Fulton County Jail in downtown Atlanta after being set up there for a live shot, police said, when the mast struck electrical wires. The mast is supposed to be lowered when the vehicle is in motion.

Police said jail employees tried to get the journalists' attention and warn them that the mast was up as they were leaving, but were unable to get them to stop.

Georgia Power told the newspaper the power lines carry 115,000 volts of electricity. The explosion destroyed the truck and left a large crater in the pavement under the vehicle. Jones and Raglin were treated for burns and smoke inhalation, the Journal-Constitution reported.

The electricity traveled through the truck and deep into the ground, destroying a water main, officials said. A spokesman for Georgia Power told the newspaper that he was surprised that anyone in the truck lived.

The National Press Photographers Association offers a special training program for ENG news operators who use vehicles with microwave masts. Titled "Look Up And Live," the training program includes a videotape and is billed as a "survival guide." It's available on the NPPA Web site under "Self-Training Resources."

 

 

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