A 31-year-old Reading man was killed Wednesday morning in a workplace accident involving a bucket truck and an electrical power line in Exeter Township, according to the Berks County Coroner’s Office.
Emergency crews were dispatched at 10:54 a.m. to the rear of a private residence in the 4000 block of Grant Street after receiving a report of a worker in a bucket truck who had come into contact with a power line.
According to Berks County Coroner Matthew J. Stitzel, the victim has been identified as
Erik Reyna-Wright. He was employed by local tree service company, New Castle Lawn & Landscape, and had been trimming a hedgerow when the equipment he was operating reportedly contacted an electrical power line.
Emergency responders arrived and began investigating the incident. The Coroner’s Office was notified and responded to the scene at 11:33 a.m.
An autopsy was completed on Thursday, June 11, 2026. The Cause of Death was determined to be high-voltage electrocution, and the manner of death was ruled accidental.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was notified and was sending an investigator from Harrisburg to assist with the workplace safety investigation.
The Berks County Coroner’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Exeter Township Police Department, Exeter Fire Company, Penn State Health EMS, and Met-Ed.
New Castle Lawn & Landscape shared the following statement on social media:
It is with extreme sadness that we share that we lost a dear member of our New Castle Lawn & Landscape family in a tragic accident.
Since our founding in 1994, New Castle has been more than a company, we are a family. The people who make up this organization are its heart, and today we feel that deeply. We are holding space for grief, for one another, and for those closest to this individual as we all navigate this incredibly difficult time.
We are grateful for the compassion extended to our team by our clients and community, and we ask for continued thoughts and prayers for all those who knew and loved this person.
