Death of Houston City Employee Shuts Down Polling Site

The death of a Houston city employee Tuesday morning in the basket of a cherry picker shut down a polling location in north Houston, according to several reports.

The man died around 11:30 a.m. while he was working for the Houston Parks and Recreation Department at the Melrose Park Community Center, which is a Harris County polling location, according to KTRK.

According to KTRK, the cherry picker was extended near a flood light poll at the community center, but it was unclear what exactly led to the worker’s death. Fox 26 Houston reported that the employee was electrocuted.

Crews were working to recover the body from the cherry picker. The community center is located at the intersection of Canino and W. Hardy roads.

Voters are being redirected to the nearest polling location, the report said. That polling location is the Hardy Street Citizens Center at 11901 West Hardy Road, according to the Houston Chronicle. Another alternative polling location is The Victory International Church at 170 Rittenhouse St.

Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement:

This morning, a city of Houston employee was killed as a result of a tragic work-related incident at Melrose Park, 401 Canino Road, in northeast Houston. The Houston Fire Department responded to the scene before noon. The Medical Examiner has been notified. The cause of death is not available at this time. My prayers are with the employee’s family and co-workers, and I ask all Houstonians to keep them in your prayers.

Details are still coming in, so it’s unclear exactly how everything unfolded but at least one person was killed. Officials later identified the person as a City of Houston Parks and Recreation employee but did not share a name, as of this writing.

The polling location in north Houston was forced to shut down shortly afterward.

The mayor’s office released a statement asking for residents to keep the employee’s family and co-workers in their prayers. Mayor Sylvester Turner said:

This morning, a city of Houston employee was killed as a result of a tragic work-related incident at Melrose Park, 401 Canino Rd, in Northeast Houston. The Houston Fire Department responded to the scene before noon. The Medical Examiner has been notified. The cause of death is not available at this time. My prayers are with the employee’s family and co-workers, and I ask all Houstonians to keep them in your prayers.

No additional information was shared, as of this writing, but an investigation is underway.

This is a developing story and will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.