PAnews.com, Port Arthur, Texas

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August 29, 2007

Man killed by lightning bolt at Motiva dock

By Amy Moore

PORT ARTHUR — A 25-year-old Mississippi man was killed Wednesday morning after being struck by a bolt of lightning while aboard a vessel at the Motiva Port Arthur dock.

The young man is identified as Brandon Jenkins.

Walter Blessy, owner of Blessy Marine, a contracting company with Motiva, said the Jenkins was working on the vessel Charles Clark when the lightning struck him around 11 a.m.

Jenkins transported by ambulance to Christus St. Mary Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Blessy said Jenkins is divorced and has two small children. He had only been employed with Blessy Marine for a short time as a tankerman trainee.

Blessy withheld the young man’s identity until his family was notified, an ironic element as Blessy said the man’s brother called him this morning to ask for a job — totally unaware of what had happened to his brother.

“We’ve never had a fatality and as the day goes on it gets a little more emotional and difficult,” the New Orlean’s based company owner said.

The dark skies were a good comparison for Blessy’s demeanor Wednesday. He also had to handle the bad news of another employee who died in his sleep earlier in the day.

“They’re just random acts and they let you know that you gotta live each day,” he said through quiet sobs.

This is not the first time a Motiva contract employee has been killed on the job. Earlier this month, Emery Bowie, 25, of Port Arthur was operating a backhoe in a ravine area when the piece of machinery began to slide backwards. Bowie reportedly jumped from the backhoe, but was crushed when the machinery continued to slide.

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