Officials seek cause of utility worker’s death

Electrocution or a medical condition may be to blame.

Southern California Edison and the Los Angeles County coroner’s office are continuing to investigate what caused a utility worker to die while he worked on power lines in Paramount, authorities said Thursday.

Jeffrey Moon, 26, of Los Angeles, was working on lines near California Avenue and Jefferson Street about 5:20 p.m. Wednesday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, and Los Angeles County Fire Department officials initially reported his death as an electrocution.

But Edward Winter, a spokesman for the coroner’s office, said it was unclear if electrocution or an existing medical condition caused the death.

“He was climbing a pole and slipped down the pole. He appeared to be having some sort of seizure,” Winter said.

“Until the full autopsy is done, we’re not sure if he suffered from a medical condition or was entangled in cable lines.”

An autopsy was conducted Thursday, but the cause of death was deferred until the full investigation is complete.

Neighbors told KCBS-TV Channel 2 that Moon had arrived after a power outage in the area and apparently slipped and fell into the power lines.

Susan Cox, a spokeswoman for Southern California Edison, said Moon had worked as a troubleman. Such workers are deployed as first responders to outages and other incidents.

The company said he was responding to a service issue for a customer, but declined to release additional information, citing the ongoing investigation.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department also responded to the scene, but the investigation is being led by the coroner’s office.

Southern California Edison is also conducting an investigation, Cox said.