A young Russell County man died in a tragic accident in Adair County Monday as he and another man attempted to unload a utility pole.
Joseph Hayden Robertson, 22, died at the scene of the accident around 2.6 miles out Ky 768 East near the Ky. 92 intersection.
Adair County Sheriff Josh Brockman received a call at 12:20 p.m. through Adair County 911 that a male had been struck by a utility pole and was unresponsive. A caller could not give specific directions to the accident before contact with 911 was lost. Dispatchers were able to ping the phone’s location and send first responders to the scene.
Preliminary investigation reveals that Robertson, along with another crew member, was attempting to unload a 30 ft. utility pole from a utility truck. The poles vary in size with an approximate weight of 900-to-1200 pounds. The crew was part of A & C Communications Corporation, a business from Cumberland County that specializes in utilities. The company was working on setting out utility poles to be installed at later date. During the attempt to unload the pole it got away from them and struck Robertson in the head and chest area, pinning him to the blacktop roadway.
Hayden, of Jamestown, was pronounced dead at the scene. In addition to Brockman, Adair County EMS and the Adair County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene.
The investigation is ongoing by Sheriff Brockman, who was assisted on scene by Adair County EMS, Columbia Adair County Fire and Coroner Todd Akin.
