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Denham Springs man survives near-deadly electric shock
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DENHAM SPRINGS - Six weeks ago, Joseph Mallett almost lost his life after getting shocked while doing landscape work. The father of seven was fearful he would never see his children again.
“I thought they were going to grow up without a daddy,” Mallett said. “I was scared, I thought that was it.”
The landscaper was caught in a precarious situation while he was cementing a flagpole that came in contact with power lines. A security camera captured Mallett getting shocked. It appears he was shocked by power lines located a few feet above the pole.
“My clothes started burning off me, my skin started melting off me. It was like slow motion, there was nothing I could do.”
After electricity traveled through his body, he appeared lifeless.
“As I was sitting on the ground, the only thing I could think of was 'Lord please forgive me,' and as I said that, I was able to take a breath,” the father of seven told WBRZ.
After the ordeal, he was unable to move. There was only one way to save his life.
“That's all I could do was shout for help.”
Minutes later, a woman from a nearby church found him and called 911.
“I ask her not to leave me and she said 'I am not going anywhere'.”
The incident caused second and third-degree burns on his body. Since the shock, he’s had three surgeries.
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