(KYTX)

1. Accident results in downed power pole

An Oncor contractor died Friday morning after being electrocuted during an attempt to repair a downed utility pole, and the man who struck the pole has been arrested.

Tyler police identified the contractor who was killed as Wesley Ray Cain, 34, of Whitehouse. He was taken to East Texas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. 

Billy Titsworth, 42, of Wills Point, was injured during the attempted repairs and was taken to Christus Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler and then transferred to Dallas after he was shocked. 

Officers responded to a one-vehicle wreck at New Copeland Road and ESE Loop 323 at 1:30 a.m. Friday, where a 25-year-old Tyler man struck a utility pole. 

According to the Tyler Police Department, the driver left the scene of the crash and abandoned his vehicle near Bishop T.K Gorman Catholic School. He was later arrested on a class B misdemeanor charge. 

An Oncor spokesman, Charles Hill, confirmed early Friday that two contractors were shocked when they arrived to make repairs to the pole. 

In a written statement, Oncor stated the wreck is under investigation. The company also expressed its condolences to the families of the individuals who were affected.

The driver of the vehicle that struck the utility pole was located and arrested for “duty upon striking fixture or landscape,” a Class B misdemeanor charge filed against suspects in a wreck who fail to notify property owners of damage caused to structures or landscaping in the area. 

Police said the suspect, who was operating the vehicle at the time of the crash, did not have a driver’s license. He was booked into the Smith County Jail on Friday with a $20,000 bond. He also has an immigration hold.

It is not the policy of the Tyler Morning Telegraph to publish the names of those who commit misdemeanors. 

-Melissa McTee and CBS 19 contributed to this report