Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 25, 2015 | Ferndale Record
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2015 PROGRESS
After ‘E-Day,’ a second life D.J. Van Weerdhuizen has battled back from electrocution that briefly took his life 25 years ago By Cameron Van Til sports@lyndentribune.com
WHATCOM — Jan. 11, 1990 began as just another Monday morning for Lynden Christian graduate D.J. Van Weerdhuizen. Then in an instant, what happened on that day 25 years ago — a day he and the people around him refer to as “E-Day” — forever altered his life. Van Weerdhuizen, age 25 at the time, was on the job, running a concrete pump truck in Bellingham, when a power line four feet away arced over and electrocuted him.
“The first shock literally lifted me off the ground,” Van Weerdhuizen said, speaking from the accounts of other construction workers who witnessed the event. “There was a huge explosion when the arc was created, it went 60 feet down the boom arm of the truck and then through this cord I was holding for a remote control.” Van Weerdhuizen explains that the control box he was holding was made of aluminum, so the electricity went through that. “And since it’s trying to get into the ground, the electricity went through my whole body and into my feet,” he said. “It somehow lifted me off the ground so that there was a visual arc between the ground and my feet. Witnesses said I was between three to four feet off the ground.” Van Weerdhuizen said that a portion of the electricity — in all, the jolt was 115,000 volts and 30,000 amps —
D.J. Van Weerdhuizen now runs a busy contracting company building homes in Whatcom County. (Cameron Van Til/Lynden Tribune)
2015 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business 55 Years
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53 Years
Mt. Baker Fireplace Shop
52 Years Vavra Auto Body
Z Recyclers Inc.
517 Liberty St. Lynden 354-4433
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48 Years
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