A routine job removing unused wire turned deadly for a South Carolina railroad lineman in March 1913.
Charles P. Pearson was working with several other employees of the Piedmont and Northern Railroad in Anderson when a section of wire fell across a heavily charged line. The loose wire then came into contact with Pearson, sending an estimated 1,500 volts of electricity through his body.
He was killed almost instantly.
Pearson left behind a wife and three children, and his body was taken to Greenville for burial.
Lineman Killed at Anderson
ANDERSON, South Carolina. — Charles P. Pearson, a lineman on the Piedmont and Northern Railroad, was electrocuted in the city this morning while working on the line. A section of unused wire fell across a highly charged wire and came into contact with Pearson’s body.
Pearson was at work with several other employees taking down an unused wire. Fifteen hundred volts of electricity passed through his body.
He is survived by a wife and three children. His body was taken to Greenville for burial.
Source: The Bamberg Herald. Bamberg, S.C. March 20, 1913.
