Lineman killed in electrical accident

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

While Tropical Storm Hermine raged through Central Texas on Tuesday, work did not stop for employees of Bluebonnet Electric Co-op. That work came with disastrous results when an accident claimed the life of one Bluebonnet employee and left another hospitalized.

Little information as to the cause of Tuesday’s accident

was available on Wednesday morning , according to Will Holford with Bluebonnet Electric Co-op. What was known is that two men, Barry Hoke, 48, and Cody Wilhelm, were working near the intersection of Highway 86 and FM 3185 in the McMahan area when they “came in contact with electricity.”

“We have begun the investigative process, conducting an internal investigation, and will cooperate fully with OSHA,” Holford said Wednesday morning. “We want to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”

Hoke, a father of three from the Fentress area, was pronounced dead at Seton – Edgar B. Davis Hospital in Luling, where he was transported by ambulance after the incident. Wilhelm was taken to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin. Holford could not offer information as to his medical status on Wednesday.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hoke family, and the Wilhelm family,” Holford said.

It was unclear whether Tuesday’s inclement weather played a factor in the incident, and Holford declined to speculate as to what may have led to the two men “making contact with electricity.”

Hoke is survived by his wife, Monte Gail Hoke; three children: Christopher Hoke and wife, Marisa, Delmarie Hoke and Johnclifton Hoke; one grandchild, Hailey Hoke; a sister, Deborah Hayden and husband, Keith; a nephew, Hunter Shelby Hayden; and numerous other family members and friends.

Services for Hoke have been scheduled through Goetz Funeral Home, and were announced late Wednesday morning.

The Hoke family plans to receive callers on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010, from 5 – 9 p.m. at the Goetz Funeral Home, 713 N. Austin St., in Seguin. Funeral Services will be held in the Goetz Funeral Home Chapel on Friday, Sept. 10, 2010, at 10 a.m., with interment following in the Kingsbury Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the American Cancer Society, or another charity of your choice.