Teen Severely Burned In Fall Onto 115,000 Volt Power Line In Plymouth

PLYMOUTH (CBS) -- A teenager was severely burned when he hit a high-voltage line while falling from a pole in Plymouth early Tuesday morning.

The Fire Department said the 15-year-old boy was climbing the high tension wires at an Eversource substation in the Beaver Dam Road area just before 6 a.m. He slipped and fell, hitting a 115,000-volt power line on his way down to the ground 20 feet below.

According to Fire Chief Ed Bradley, the teen burned his clothes off in the fall.

He was conscious as he was rushed in an ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital.

A young woman who knows the teen said this was not his first time on the poles.

"He just climbs through the brush over there and just kind of gets up on the thing. So you have to get on one side and hold onto the pegs and once he gets to the pegs he climbs up those and then sits on the side thing," explained Emily. "We told him a few times that you know, it's really not a good idea and he's like 'yeah.' I think he's just trying to show off and stuff."

While the boy was near the substation, he was not within the fenced off area.

"As we investigate what happened this morning, our thoughts are with the young man, his family and friends, and we all hope he'll be okay. We can't emphasize strongly enough that high voltage power lines and electrical substations can be hazardous, which is why we implore everyone to stay away from them," Eversource said in a statement.

No other information is available at this point in the investigation.