Cable TV Worker Injured In Fall From Bucket Truck

By Andrew Gorosko

A Charter Communications employee’s medical condition was improving this week in Danbury Hospital following an accident early on the morning of October 31, in which he fell from the elevated bucket of a bucket truck and landed about 20 feet below on a residential driveway.

Charter Communications employee George Nadal, 34, of Meriden was listed in good condition in the hospital on the afternoon of November 1. The previous day he had been listed in fair condition.

Police report that in the darkness at about 5:41 am October 31, they received a call reporting that a man who had been working in an elevated bucket truck at the Audet residence at 23 Hoseye Coach Road in Sandy Hook had fallen out of the bucket and hit the ground. The Ford F-475 bucket truck is owned by Charter Communications of 9 Commerce Road, which is the local cable television company. A Charter spokesman was not available for comment.

Police, the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company responded to the scene.

Nadal was found lying on the dirt driveway at the residence when emergency staffers arrived.

Firefighters provided first aid to Nadal until ambulance staffers arrived, said Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead. Nadal complained of pain, the fire chief said. The nature and extent of his injuries is unknown.

Police said that Nadal had been working in the elevated bucket when the bucket truck started moving and then rolled down the sloped driveway, colliding with two vehicles which were parked in the driveway. Those unoccupied vehicles were a 2003 Dodge minivan and a 2005 GMC pickup truck.

“The impact ejected Nadal from the [elevated] bucket onto the driveway,” police said.

The crash propelled the GMC into the attached two-bay garage of the house, causing structural damage to the garage and knocking over a small canister of gasoline inside the garage, officials said. The garage did not have any vehicles inside it at the time of the accident. Firefighters isolated the spilled gasoline.

Chief Halstead said the residents of the home were advised not to use living space above the garage until it was certain that the building was structurally sound.

A building restoration firm was called to the scene to make emergency repairs, he said. The attached garage section of the house received moderate damage, he said.

Nadal apparently had been working on a Charter cable service line at the property when the accident occurred, according to Chief Halstead. The utility truck apparently rolled about 50 feet down the sloped driveway before colliding with the two parked vehicles, he said.

The accident is being referred to the US Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) for review, Chief Halstead said.

Police said they do not expect to lodge any charges, terming the incident an industrial accident. A mechanical inspection was performed on the bucket truck and no apparent problems were found, police said.

Police Officer Steve Ketchum investigated the incident.