A man was electrocuted while working on construction of the new Pine Bluff High School on March 11, according to a police incident report.
An officer was dispatched to the campus at 711 W. 11th Ave. at about 6:55 a.m. that day and arrived as members of the Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services Department were performing CPR on a male later identified as Chase McCarley, 22. Medical personnel from Emergency Ambulance Services Inc. arrived a short time later and continued efforts to resuscitate McCarley, according to the police narrative.
McCarley was transported to Jefferson Regional for further treatment, according to the police report, but was pronounced dead by a doctor at 7:46 a.m.
According to an online obituary, McCarley was pursuing his education at an electrician trade school while working at Arnold & Blevins Electric Co. He left behind a fiancé and son. Funeral services were held March 20 in Sheridan, according to the obituary.
A man who answered a phone call at Arnold & Blevins’ North Little Rock office said the supervisor authorized to talk more about McCarley was not available Friday.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Pine Bluff High School is scheduled for substantial completion in June, replacing the previous campus that was torn down at the same location two years earlier. Students have been attending the former Jack Robey Junior High School campus on Olive Street during construction.
East Harding Construction Co. is the project’s contractor of record. An email and voice message seeking comment were left for both East Harding and Pine Bluff School District Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree. The district was observing spring break this week.
MAN HIT BY TRAIN LATE THURSDAY
Pine Bluff police also responded to a call of a man being struck by a train Thursday night at 1825 Sturgis Rd., near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
An officer said, according to a police report, upon arriving at about 10:05 p.m., William Green III was located on the east side of Union Pacific Train 7756, which was pulling 100 cars. The officer spoke with the engineer, who stated Green was walking on the tracks. The engineer reportedly told the officer he and the conductor “thought Green was some sort of animal at first,” but when they realized Green was a person, they blew the horn and applied an e-brake. Green, however, reportedly hit the cattle guard at the front of the engine going at 20 to 30 mph with 11,694 tons of weight.
The officer reported Green was conscious and responsive “throughout the situation,” providing his name and date of birth. Green was “carefully moved” to a waiting ambulance that quickly transported him to Jefferson Regional, then flown to UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock by Pafford Air Medics, the officer reported.
Green’s condition was not known.