Downed Line Kills Driver, Three Rescuers

An injured driver and three rescuers trying to help him after a crash were electrocuted by a downed power line.

One of the rescuers backed into the 7,200-volt line Thursday night while they were trying to move the driver, sheriff’s Deputy Tim Bailey said. The ground was wet.

The driver, Andrew A. Bigler, 28, died along with firefighters James H. Johnson, 63, and Charles A. Rudd, 21, and paramedic Robert D. Good, 30.

Five others - volunteer firefighters, paramedics and a sheriff’s deputy - were injured.

“The real tragedy of this is that this happened to people who are volunteers,” Sheriff John Butterworth said. “These guys are doing it out of pure heart.”

Bigler had been found lying on the ground after he drove off a road and hit a utility pole.