Utility worker dies

PENINSULA TOWNSHIP — Officials said a 51-year-old Consumers Energy worker has died after being shocked by an electric line.

The Grand Traverse County sheriff's office responded Friday to a report of a medical emergency involving electric shock on the Old Mission Peninsula near Traverse City.

The utility said James Farrington of Alden was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Jackson-based Consumers Energy said in a statement that Farrington was shocked by an electric line.

The death is under investigation by state and local authorities, as well as the utility.

Farrington was a journeyman line worker.

He joined Consumers Energy after earlier working with Traverse City Light & Power and the Lansing Board of Water & Light.