WASHINGTON-North Carolina authorities confirmed they are investigating the death of a man who fell at least 100 feet from a cell-phone tower owned by Alltel Corp. and managed by American Tower Corp.
An American Tower official said the company is conducting its own probe of the fall, which killed 24-year-old John Paul Regan and occurred Feb. 25. Alltel did not return a call for comment.
The North Carolina Department of Labor investigation comes as tower industry and state officials spar over certain provisions in the state’s new fall protection standard for communications tower workers-the first of its kind in the nation. The disputed provisions have gone to the North Carolina legislature to be resolved.
Juan Santos, a spokesman for the N.C. Department of Labor, said there were eight fatal communications tower falls in the state between 1997 and 2004, and one in 2003.
Regan was employed by Excel Tower Services Inc. of Wilson County, N.C.
