Police: Worker dies in electrocution accident in Danville

Stephanie Wang and Kara Berg, IndyStar
A man died on Saturday, April 8, 2017, when a crane he was working in struck power lines next to the Danville Christian Church, near Jefferson and Main streets, police said.

A man in a construction lift was electrocuted Saturday afternoon in downtown Danville, a police spokesman said.

The man, later identified as 59-year-old Chris Goins, was a contractor working at Danville Christian Church near Jefferson and Main streets, said Danville Police public information officer Nate Lien.

He was in a lift when he made contact with a high-voltage power line and was later pronounced dead, Lien said.

Goins came into contact with the line while he working on the church gutters.

"It just appears it's a tragic accident at this point," Lien said.

Duke Energy was on scene to check the lines, he added. The death investigation is ongoing.

Keri Beavers, who is a member of the church, said she lives less than a block away and was home when the incident happened.

"All you heard was a loud bang and then the whole town lost power for a few minutes," Beavers said. "I wasn't sure what had happened or where it came from until the fire department was there."

She said there were some people at the church, including the victim, who were getting things ready for Palm Sunday. She said she was told it happened very quickly.

"This was just a very scary and tragic accident," Beavers said.

The American Legion in Danville has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Goins' funeral expenses. More than $13,000 has been raised in just 18 hours. Goins was self-employed, and had no life insurance, according to the GoFundMe's description. 

"Chris was the first to offer his help to those in need and was taken from us doing just that, volunteering his time to a local church," the GoFundMe's description read. "His heart was as big as a mountain and those who knew him, loved him dearly."

An earlier version of this story misidentified the utility company responding to the scene. This story has been updated to reflect the correction.

Call IndyStar reporter Stephanie Wang at (317) 444-6184. Follow her on Twitter: @stephaniewang.

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