A WESTBURY family is raising awareness about the dangers of working close to high voltage power lines after a member of their family was electrocuted, causing life-changing injuries, while he was cleaning windows. A fundraiser has also been set up to support him and his young family.
Jason Knight was cleaning windows on a property in Westbury last month when he was electrocuted by a low hanging 33,000-volt overhead cable which formed an arc, causing the electricity to ‘jump’ and make contact with Jason’s water pole.
This caused Jason to be catapulted metres away, which blew off his shoes in the process and left him unconscious until he was found by the homeowner. Jason was airlifted to Southmead Hospital where they immediately amputated his left forearm which had sustained damage from the electrocution. He has since had 12 surgeries including the amputation of five toes as well as tendons and muscles in his legs, which have left him unable to walk.
Jason was working weekends to help support his family during the cost-of-living crisis and worked as a self-employed window cleaner in Westbury. A GoFundMe was set up to raise money to support Jason and his family and, at the time of writing, more than £14,000 has been raised.
Writing on GoFundMe, Jason’s sister Leanna Haskell said, “On Saturday 6th April, my loving, kind-hearted brother was cleaning windows for a customer in a seemingly safe domestic neighbourhood when he was electrocuted by a 33,000-volt overhead power cable which was dangerously close to the property without any insulation or warning signs. We believe the high voltage of the line caused the electricity to arc, causing a jumping affect which in turn passed through my brothers ‘insulated’ carbon-fibre water-fed pole.
“Jason is a devoted husband to wife Sara of six years and father to identical twin 18-month-old girls as well as their seven-year-old daughter. Described by many of those who have had the pleasure of knowing Jason as ‘the nicest guy you would ever meet’, Jason is a keen fisherman, a charitable Freemason and an avid Arsenal supporter, with an infectious laugh and a gentle, kind loving nature.
“This incident has caused him to have life-threatening injuries, which will change the course of his life, as well as his young family’s, forever. Lower limb experts at Southmead Hospital are hopeful that they may be able to reconstruct Jason’s legs and feet to enable him to ‘walk’ but the extent to which he will be able to do this, unaided, is yet to be known. Jason’s journey so far has been an extremely turbulent one, with concerns for his internal organs, especially his kidneys, as well as fighting off numerous infections and blood clots, which placed him under critical risk during his time in the Intensive Care Unit.
“As a family we are in awe of how strong my incredible brother is being. He has an extremely long road to rehabilitation ahead of him, which will involve numerous surgeries, physiotherapy, the use of aids and prosthetics, as well as counselling and psychotherapy.
“We are led to believe that Jason’s rehabilitation in Southmead Hospital will continue for many, many months, leaving his wife and young family home without any generated income. Jason’s ability to financially support his young family not only whilst he is undergoing treatment in hospital, but also for the foreseeable future, is going to be extremely difficult, especially alongside the inevitable changes that are going to be needed to be made to his home to aid his mobility and his quality of life. There are also the costs of prosthetics, transportation, travel, and ongoing physiotherapy and treatments to consider. Naturally, given the extent of Jason’s life changing injuries, he will no longer be physically able to continue with his small cleaning business, which he has spent over two years building himself.
“We hope that this campaign will help to create awareness around the dangers of working in close proximities to high voltage power lines, which may not always present themselves as an immediate threat to life, especially those within the vicinity of domestic premises. Jason’s story is a harsh realisation of the dangers these uninsulated power lines pose and is a warning to us all of the potential for electricity to ‘jump’, even when the victim has not come into direct contact with it.”
Jason’s father, John said, “When they were wheeling him down to theatre, the first thing he said to me was, ‘I don’t understand dad – my pole was insulated’.
“He then said ‘what can we do to stop this from happening to someone else’? That sums up his character. It’s now my mission to make as many people aware of these dangers as I possibly can.”
The family is appealing for people to share Jason’s story and to make people more aware of the dangers of low hanging cables.
Can your local business help?
Jason’s family is also appealing for local businesses to get in contact to see if they can help raise money either through donations, a raffle or anything similar. Trowbridge-based hot tub supplier, Premium Tubs, has already agreed to supply a hot tub to aid Jason’s recovery – if you can aid in a similar way, email john@ebsuk.biz.
