Tooele man expected to survive critical injury by electric shock at U.S. Magnesium facility

TOOELE COUNTY — Hospital officials said the worker at a U.S. Magnesium facility who was critically injured Thursday when he came in contact with a high-voltage power line is expected to survive.

Tooele County emergency crews were called to the plant at 7:23 a.m., said Tooele County sheriff's deputy Steve Hansen. When they arrived, responders found workers administering CPR to the 38-year-old Tooele man.

The man was flown by medical helicopter to University Hospital.

As of 6:30 p.m., the victim still had not regained consciousness, and Tooele County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Morgan said hospital staff planned to take the man off a ventilator to see if he would be able to breathe on his own.

"The family isn't doing very well," Morgan said. "They just don't know what the final outcome will be. All we can do is pray."

A University Hospital spokesman said Thursday night the man's condition was still critical but that he is expected to survive.

— Josh Smith and Lana Groves