by Kevin Lilly
LUCERNE — A man who sustained a powerful electrical shock while working on a farm near Lucerne is in critical condition in a Fort Wayne hospital.
At about 10:45 a.m. Thursday, 29-year-old Jeremy D. Clippard of Logansport was working on a grain bin at 5687N 200W when the boom of a crane hoisting him into the air inside a basket made contact with a power line, said Maj. Mike Day of the Cass County Sheriff’s Department.
The shock blew Clippard from the basket. He fell more than 20 feet to the gravel driveway below.
Day said that Clippard was in and out of consciousness as medics tended to his injuries before Samaritan Helicopter landed in a grassy area nearby and airlifted him to Parkview Hospital.
Emergency Management Agency Director Alvin Beckman was on scene to coordinate the helicopter landing. He also assisted medics in treating Clippard’s wounds from the electricity entering and exiting his body.
Clippard was listed in critical condition as of Thursday evening, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Property owner John Webber could not be reached for comment.
Lucerne Fire and Logansport medics also responded to the scene.
• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com
