An AEP line crew’s primary mission is to restore power. Sometimes, however, they end up doing much more.
On a late July evening, SWEPCO line crew members Clayton Truitt and Julius Johnson were dispatched to an outage near Anacoco, Louisiana.
After patrolling the line and locating the outage, the crew safely shut off power to a section of the line and returned to the work area to begin repairs. As they stepped out of their vehicle and surveyed the scene, they heard a faint groaning sound coming from the darkness nearby.
Truitt and Johnson chose to investigate.
Using their flashlights, they followed the sound and discovered an elderly man lying on the ground a short distance from his porch. When they attempted to speak with him, he was unable to respond.
Recognizing that he was in distress, the two lineworkers immediately called 911.
When law enforcement arrived, Truitt pointed out that a cellphone on the porch had been repeatedly sounding an alert. The responding officer checked the phone and determined it was connected to a medical notification indicating the man’s blood sugar had fallen to a dangerously low level. The officer administered a glucose tablet while EMS was en route.
Emergency responders arrived shortly afterward and transported the man to the hospital for further treatment.
“Clayton and Julius were there to restore power, but they never lost sight of what was happening around them,” said Drew Seidel, vice president, Distribution Operations.
“Their awareness, compassion and willingness to act when someone needed help likely saved a life. We are incredibly proud of them and the way they represent SWEPCO every day.”
According to EMS personnel on scene, had Truitt and Johnson not found the man when they did, he may not have survived.
That evening, two lineworkers arrived to repair an outage. But because they paid attention to the world beyond the wires, they found a neighbor in need. The outage was restored and, most importantly, a life was saved.