WANATAH, Ind. – Deaths from electrocution rarely happen anymore on farms. It took a guardian angel, perhaps, to keep one from happening recently after a dump truck delivering lime to an Indiana corn field came in contact with overhead power lines.

On Dec. 6, Phillip Stephens backed a dump truck carrying 24 tons of lime into a corn field near Wanatah, according to LaPorte County Police. He started raising the bucket of the truck to dump the load when the tires on his 2008 Peterbilt began sinking into the soft ground, police said.

To avoid getting stuck, police said the 46-year-old Stephens chose to dump the rest of the load while driving forward. The truck was moving when the raised bucket caught an overhead power line. In response, Stephens braked and tried to safely lower the bucket to free it from the power line when it snagged a second live wire. Police said both power lines then snapped.

The current flowing from the wires caught the tires on the truck on fire. Stephens, working for nearby Kaiser Crop Services, left the cab with a fire extinguisher and put out the flames.

Employees from the utility provider, Northern Indiana Public Service Company, asked Stephens, along with the responding officer, to move back until the power in the lines was confirmed off. Police said Stephens was fortunate not to have been electrocuted when he exited the truck to put out the flames.

Bill Field, a farm safety expert at Purdue University, said a standard power line on utility poles carries 7,500 volts of electricity. In comparison, Field said homes are equipped to operate on 120 volts.

Field said a vehicle is electrified when the metal comes into contact with a live power line. Power lines don’t have to snap to pose a danger because the outside of the metal hot wires are not covered by insulation, he said.

Metal and other things like water, including body fluids, act as a circuit drawing voltage when contact is made with electricity.

Field said the man likely cheated death by not touching the outside of the truck. He also said Stevens could have jumped from the cab to avoid placing his foot on any metal steps on the truck or stepping on what was probably a narrow strip of electrified soil around the vehicle.

All too often, Field said people in those situations in any vehicle die from not knowing what to do or realizing the dangers posed by fallen power lines.

“Usually, what happens is when they step out of that truck they become part of that circuit and they’re electrocuted right there,” he said. The current running through the body and to the metal rims generated enough heat to cause the tires to start burning.

Field said it’s also possible the flow of voltage created a power surge. He said a surge can shut off the power from blowing fuses added to utility lines for safety and to protect the electrical systems, he said. “I think he went to church on Sunday,” he said.

Field said the best advice for people in vehicles touching a power line is to stay inside and wait for help unless their vehicles are on fire. The foam, plastic and other materials offer protection from any electrical current in the metal.

Field said farm related deaths from power line mishaps are rare now. He cited more utility wires being installed beneath the surface of the ground as one of the major reasons.

Still concerning, though, are low hanging power lines, particularly on older farms, as machines and attachments are getting taller.

Field said what safety really boils down to is farm related machine operators paying attention and knowing their surroundings.

“Here’s a guy driving a truck and he forgets where he is, and he drives into a power line. It’s not necessary,” he said.