Massachusetts Men Identified in High-Voltage Power Line Deaths on Cape Cod

Two Massachusetts men died over the weekend while working on high-voltage power lines.

According to the Associated Press, Joseph L. Boyd II and John Loughran were suspended at least 100 feet above ground when their bucket truck toppled over.

Representatives from Utility NStar said Boyd, a resident of Fall River, and Loughran, of Quincy, were contracted to work on a company project in Bourne, located on Cape Cod. The two worked for Mass Bay Electric work, which was doing work for NStar at the time.

According to Police Chief Dennis Woodside, both men were situated in the bucket when the truck tipped over, spilling them out of it. They were both killed on impact, AP reported.

The cause of the tipping bucket is not immediately clear - Woodside told the Associated Press that the conditions were not especially windy at the time of the event, and that the ground beneath the truck was steady.

Family members of Loughran's who spoke with the Boston Herald said he "died doing what he loved."

"You won't believe this, but he was very happy to be where he was today," John Loughran Sr. told the Herald. "He wouldn't have been any other place than up in the air, near the Cape Cod Canal, looking over Cape Cod."

Bourne police have joined the district attorney's office and Occupations Safety and Health Administration for the investigation.

"OSHA is going to investigate the incident, but I wouldn't be surprised if wind had something to do with it," Cape Cod and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said.

Loughran Sr. said he'd worked with his son on a few occasions.

"Anywhere where people were unfortunate and lost their power after a storm, he was there," he said. "He was the first guy up there in the bucket. If people needed him, he was there. That's how I want people to remember him."