30-year-old Justin Bryan was on the ground, assisting 27-year-old Jefferey Busch and 31-year-old Matthew Waldrop with placing a new pole on the ground.

SEMINOLE, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has cited a utility construction contractor for Duke Energy, months after one worker was electrocuted and two others were injured at a Seminole site.

On Aug. 12, 2025, deputies responded to the area of Park Boulevard North and 85th Lane, where there was a report of a man who was electrocuted. Detectives identified the men as crew for Primoris Services Corp. — operating as Primoris T&D Services LLC — who were working as subcontractors for the energy company.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said 30-year-old Justin Bryan was on the ground, assisting 27-year-old Jefferey Busch and 31-year-old Matthew Waldrop with placing a new pole on the ground. The three crew members, along with the boom operator, were struggling to get the pole placed properly.

At the time, deputies said the boom operator was closing the claw to get a hold of the pole before the claw touched one side of the pole, causing it to hit a power line. Witnesses previously told 10 Tampa Bay News they heard an explosion, which caused the ground to catch fire, sending smoke into the air.

Bryan was pronounced dead at the scene, while Busch and Waldrop were taken to a hospital for severe burns.

At the time, the incident caused roughly 14,000 customers to lose their power.

Investigators with the DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) say they have cited the employer with serious violations for failing to ensure employees maintained the required minimum approach distance from exposed energized parts or have the transmission line deenergized, assign a designated observer to monitor approach distances and provide warnings, and ensure the job briefing covered special precautions required when working under energized transmission lines. 

The OSHA has proposed $49,650 in penalties. 

“The employer has contested the citations before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission,” the DOL stated. “Penalties and citations may be adjusted throughout the course of the case process.”