Dec 10, 2008 12:55 pm US/Central
ComEd Worker Burned In Manhole In June Dies
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
A Commonwealth Edison employee who died Tuesday from injuries suffered in an electrical fire in a manhole last summer is being remembered as a dedicated and admired co-worker and family man.
On June 6 at about 2:20 a.m., Alejandro Collazo was working in a manhole in the 5100 block of West Roosevelt Road in the Austin neighborhood when he was burned while trying to repair equipment from an earlier outage. An "electrical flash" or discharge of electricity occurred, causing an explosion, fire or something "in between," ComEd spokesman Jeff Burdick said the day of the accident.
Collazo, 38, was initially taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition but was later transferred to the burn center at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Collazo was pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center at 12:23 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
The irregular discharge of electricity that caused Collazo to be burned originated from a different electrical cable or line than the one he was working on, Burdick said. An internal investigation did not produce any evidence of human error, ComEd spokesman Luis Diaz-Perez said Wednesday morning.
Since the accident, Collazo's fellow employees "have rallied to his cause," Diaz-Perez said. They have held blood drives, fundraisers and sent messages of support to Collazo and his family via a Web site set up for them.
"Alex endured a brave struggle over the past six months," Diaz-Perez said. "All of ComEd is grieving the death of our co-worker. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family.
"This holiday season everyone at ComEd will share the Collazo family's profound loss as we remember Alex -- a husband, father and admired co-worker."
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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