A lineman who died after being electrocuted may have had a heart attack which caused him to grab live wires.
David Winter was working on lines from the bucket of a cherry picker with a co-worker, who tried to pull him free but could not, Rotorua Coroner David
Dowthwaite was told during an inquest into the 41-year-old's death a year ago.
Mr Winter had been working alongside his Siemens workmate Stephen Davidson on power lines at Rotoiti on August 31.
The pair were on their way down in a cherry picker and had stopped to check it was clear to continue to the ground when the incident happened, the coroner heard.
"I was turning around when I felt a kick in the back of my leg," an emotional Mr Davidson told the court. "We were back to back at that stage. David was holding the two wires facing outwards ... I turned around and tried to pull him by his overalls but I didn't realise how hard he was stuck. I then grabbed him by ... his harness and pulled."
Mr Winter was unconscious and Mr Davidson told his workmates on the ground to call an ambulance. He and another workmate spent 20 minutes trying to resuscitate Mr Winter before ambulance officers arrived and took over.
Rotorua pathologist David Taylor said Mr Winter had heart, fatty liver and lung disease.
While he could not say for sure, Mr Winter may have had a heart attack which caused him to stagger and grab hold of the live wires.
Mr Dowthwaite reserved his findings.
- NZPA
