EVERETT — A man has admitted to reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, after his 5-year-old son was shocked by power lines in downtown Everett last summer.
The boy suffered severe burns to his face.
His father, 34, of Lynnwood, pleaded guilty last month in Everett Municipal Court. He was sentenced to just under a year in jail, with all but five days of the time suspended if he stays out of trouble.
He completed his jail time earlier this month, according to public records. The Daily Herald is not naming the defendant because he shares a last name with his son, who was the victim of the crime.
State law defines reckless endangerment as creating a “substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person.”
Police alleged that the man took his son to a work site near Colby Avenue on June 22. He reportedly loaded them both into a hydraulic lift that he raised into the power lines.
Witnesses said the man didn’t seem to know how to use the machinery.
It is not clear whether the man was working for the company that owned the lift.
The boy’s mother cited the electrical incident in family court, where she sought to amend their custody arrangements. She alleges that the boy nearly died and suffered second-degree burns.
The man also has spent time behind bars in recent weeks in a separate case involving two driving-related misdemeanors.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.
