HAVERHILL — The sister of an electrical worker who received a shock said he is in a coma and on a respirator.
Juliette Zivic of Rye, N.H., said her brother John Kaye, 52, of Hingham was transferred this week from Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
"He's still in a coma, he's on a respirator and there appears to be brain damage," Zivic said yesterday. "The doctors are planning to do an MRI of his brain."
Kaye, an employee of Harlan Electric of Methuen, received the shock July 7 while he was working at a utility pole on Boardman Street. He was in a bucket extended from a truck when he came into contact with power lines, police said. They are trying to determine why he received the shock — whether he had a medical emergency such as a heart attack that caused him to lean against them or if there was an equipment problem or other reason.
Several police officers and a nurse who lives nearby worked on Kaye after he was injured, and then he was rushed to Merrimack Valley Hospital.
Harlan Electric is doing subcontracting work for National Grid on power lines and utility poles on Boardman Street and elsewhere in Haverhill. National Grid is replacing utility poles.
Yesterday, Harlan spokesman Scott Lamont said his company has no comment on the incident.
"The investigation into what happened is ongoing and the company is cooperating with OSHA and the authorities," Lamont said of safety officials.
Zivic, who was 15 when her brother was born, said she took care of him until he was around 10.
"You try to look on the bright side and that he's getting the best care in Boston," Zivic said.
She said her brother is one of four boys and that they have always been a very close-knit group — "their own little club," she said.
"I'd like to extend my thanks to those who stopped to help my brother," she said. "In this day and age, sometimes people don't want to stop and help someone."
