Teacher killed after utility pole snaps; family sues energy companies
31-year-old Jeunelle Robinson was killed in August 2023 when a utility pole snapped and hit her. (Credit: Bamberg Legal, LLC)
WAGNER, S.C. - The family of a South Carolina teacher killed after a utility pole snapped and slammed into her is now suing the energy companies they believe are responsible.
Last August, Jeunelle Robinson, 31, was on her lunch break when a vehicle struck a power line and brought down the pole. She had grabbed lunch and was returning to her vehicle to get back to school.
According to court documents, Robinson died when the pole snapped and "collided with her head with bone-shattering force as she attempted to avoid it." The entire incident was captured on surveillance video.
Robison was a social studies teacher at Wagener-Salley High School.
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The family is suing Dominion Energy, Comporium, and PBT Telecom for negligence, wrongful death among other causes of action.
"Dominion Energy did not own the telecommunications pole that struck Jeunelle Robinson. We extend our deepest condolences to her family," the company said in a statement to FOX TV Stations.
In the more than 100-page lawsuit, Attorney Justin Bamberg said utility poles in the area are more than 70 years old and the pole that killed Robinson was "one of a number of core and shell rotted utility poles" around downtown Wagner.
"It’s no longer fair to allow a family and a community to be victimized, and we have decided to fight back," Attorney Justin Bamberg told a local news outlet.
Bamberg said the company had a duty to maintain the poles and their conditions.
The family is currently suing for $100 million. FOX TV Stations has reached out to the companies for comment.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.