Lawyer questions Xcel Energy pole safety, requests review after deadly incident in Hopkins

A local lawyer is asking for a state commission to take action after an Xcel Energy utility pole fell onto a car in Hopkins, killing the driver, a 31-year-old father.

Joshua A. Newville of Minneapolis-based Halunen Law has sent a letter to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) asking them to review Xcel Energy’s utility pole inspection and maintenance practices following the deadly incident on Aug. 23 near the Second Street Station Apartments on Blake Road North.

According to Hopkins police, neighbors told them that the victim, Kenneth Green, had just pulled into the parking lot where he lived when the power pole fell onto his car and caught fire.

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