Wellesley Contractor Electrocuted While Stringing Holiday Lights

WELLESLEY, MA — A contractor working in Wellesley on Wednesday morning was fighting for his life after being the victim of an apparent electrocution while stringing holiday lights.

Police said emergency responders were able to shock the man in apparent cardiac arrest back to life and he was rushed to Newton Wellesley Hospital before being moved to Massachusetts General Hospital.

Police said a preliminary investigation determined that the man was using a pole to hang the lights on a large tree on Falmouth Circle when the pole came into contact with a primary electrical line on the top of a utility pole.

Police said the 911 caller who reported the man in distress said he was unconscious, appeared to be having a seizure and that had stopped breathing. The dispatcher gave instructions to the caller to perform CPR until officers arrived and took over life-saving procedures.

"The last shock administered to the victim by the AED appeared to revive him as he regained a pulse," Wellesley police said.

Wellesley Municipal Light Plant responders examined the scene, reconstructed the incident and said that there was no danger to the public.