Teen released from hospital

CLOVIS — The teenage boy who came into contact with a power line Tuesday night has been released from the hospital, his mother said.

The boy, 17, received third-degree burns to his arm, hand and both legs and was fully conscious when he was transported to Plains Regional Medical Center.

His mother said Saturday that “He’s doing OK, but we do have to watch some things.”

Xcel Energy spokesman Wes Reeves said the company received a report from first responders at 7:24 p.m. Tuesday that a person trespassed into Xcel’s east Clovis substation and was injured after making contact with energized equipment.

“In order to protect the safety of the first responders,” Reeves said, “we de-energized the substation, resulting in an outage to 4,555 customers in that section of the city. First responders were able to help the person out of the substation, and we restored services at 7:40 p.m.”

Clovis Police Capt. Roman Romero said the department received a call just before 7 p.m. from somebody stating he’d been electrocuted, and a subsequent caller reported seeing a person in the electrical station near Calan Court and hearing a “pop” sound.

On arrival, officers noted the boy sitting on a tower within the electrical substation.

Clovis Fire Chief Mike Nolen credited Xcel for help on the event, noting his department set up lighting and paramedics outside the substation ready to give treatment while an Xcel employee used a bucket truck and “removed the individual from the area he was perched on.”

Romero reported the teen was taken to PRMC, and later to Lubbock for followup care. Romero said the boy was recovering and alert at the time.

Romero said CPD hasn’t ruled out criminal charges, but for now the department was “hoping for the juvenile’s recovery.”