Police ID 3 killed in W.Va. cell towers collapse
Notice: Undefined variable: article_ad_placement3 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/single.php on line 128
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia State Police have released the names of two workers and a firefighter who were killed when two cellphone towers collapsed.
Lt. Michael Baylous on Sunday identified the workers as 32-year-old Kyle Kirkpatrick of Hulbert, Okla., and 27-year-old Terry Lee Richard Jr. of Bokoshe, Okla. He identified the firefighter as 28-old Michael Dale Garrett of Clarksburg, a member of the Nutter Fork Volunteer Fire Department.
Baylous says Kirkpatrick and Richard were working on a 300-foot cellphone tower Saturday when it collapsed in Clarksburg. Garrett was killed when a smaller cellphone tower weakened by the collapse also fell.
Two other workers suffered non-life threatening injuries.
State police Cpl. Mark Waggamon said Saturday that the workers were doing maintenance to strengthen the larger tower’s support when the accident occurred.