Darren Bishop and family (source GoFundMe page)
Tower tech Darren Bishop was laid to rest on Sunday in Proctorville, OH. Bishop died in a fatal fall from a 300-foot guyed American Tower structure in Huntsburg Township, OH. The 32-year-old father of two was working on an install for AT&T on a project managed by Black & Veatch. He was employed by Overland Contracting and a nine-year veteran of the tower climbing community.
According to a police report obtained by Inside Towers, the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received a 911 call reporting a male, who was not breathing, had fallen 240 feet from a tower. The caller stated CPR was in progress. The address of the incident was 12611 Princeton Road in Huntsburg Township. Deputies remained on scene to provide security until OSHA arrived.
OSHA and a representative from American Tower arrived on the scene. At 1 p.m. the sheriff’s deputy observed a damaged hard hat a few feet to the west of the victim and noted that he was wearing a safety harness. The deputy said he did not observe the carabiner clips on the harness to be attached to anything separate from the harness attachment point.
The report stated: “A yellow strap laying on the ground was located south of the victim on the other side of the fuel tank. The strap was described as an attachment point that can be placed on the tower and then the climber can secure their safety harness to said strap.”
Bishop was pronounced deceased at 1:26 p.m. by Dr. Veverka of University Hospital-Geauga. An autopsy was completed at the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Three other employees of Overland Contracting were on scene at the time of the incident, two of whom were working on the ground and one still on the tower. The crew was working on completing a video audit of the work they had completed when the incident occurred. Geauga County LOSS (Local Outreach Support to Survivors) Team responded to the scene and rendered assistance to the employees.
Darren Bishop was known for his passion for photography, taking a two-year break from tower climbing to establish his own studio, Dark Cloud Fine Art Photography. On his studio’s website, he had the following quote about himself: “As an artist though, I can’t simply do regular portraits for it lacks the creative outlet in which I seek. I have this ever-growing desire to push my own creative limits, so every photo is an art piece. Taking the photos is just setting up the easel and canvas. When I open a photo to start editing, that’s when the brush touches the paper.”
He is survived by his wife, Miranda and two children.
A GoFundMe site has been set up to support the family while the Tower Family Foundation is establishing a fund as well. See links attached to contribute generously to these worthy causes.
By Jim Fryer, Inside Towers Managing Editor
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