GoFundMe started to help family, fiancee of Duke Energy employee who died on job

A Duke Energy lineworker died on the job near Wandering Creek Drive in northwest Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon. A police report identified him as Zach Jones of Charlotte. He was 25.

WBTV reported that a call came in around 2:35 p.m. about a lineworker being electrocuted.

On Friday, Duke Energy spokesperson Logan Stewart provided the following statement to The Charlotte Observer:

“Earlier this week a fatality on Wandering Creek Drive in Charlotte involved one of our lineworkers. Our hearts go out to our teammate’s family and fellow coworkers. We are currently investigating the incident to learn more and ask for privacy for the family.”

Stewart did not respond when asked to confirm how Jones died. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police referred a question about what happened to Duke Energy.

A GoFundMe page said the spouse of a Duke Energy lineman was helping raise money for Jones’ financee, Gianna Polito. Jones was a Marine veteran and was in the process of building a home with his fiancee, the page said.

Two people were killed in North Carolina from electrocution between October and July, according to state Department of Labor numbers.

In the previous year, between October 2022 and September 2023, there were four electrocution deaths. And a year prior, there were six.

John B. Mallow, a spokesperson with the N.C. Department of Labor, said the Occupational Safety and Health Division opened an inspection into Wednesday’s incident.