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A lineman was killed earlier this month while working on a substation in Mayville during a scheduled power outage.
Attorney Joe Nicastro with Buffalo Law confirmed the death during a phone interview Tuesday.
"Our firm has been retained by the Lockett family following the death of Stephen P. Lockett. Stephen suffered catastrophic injuries in the early morning hours of September 11, 2026 while performing electrical repair work at the village of Mayville's Lakeview Avenue electric substation," he said.
On Sept. 2, some mini-transformers blew at the Mayville substation, causing a small fire. Some residents were without power for about an hour and a half.
On Sept. 8, the Mayville Village Board passed a resolution declaring a State of Emergency in the village. Mayor Rick Syper said the purpose of the State of Emergency was to help the process of getting the substation repaired quicker.
Officials scheduled a villagewide power outage which began at midnight on Sept 11 and lasted for a few hours. During that time period, work was to be done on the substation.
Syper was asked about the incident. He said he was limited on what he could say but noted "there was an unfortunate accident with a subcontracting company that was working with us on our substation."
According to Sheriff Jim Quattrone, in the early morning hours of Sept. 11, his deputies responded and administered CPR to an individual at the substation. They utilized an Automated External Defibrillator until the subject was turned over to Emergency Medical Services. He was later taken to a hospital.
His obituary states he died Sept. 15 at the Erie County Medical Center.
Nicastro noted Stephen's family is "grieving an unimaginable loss, while desperately searching for answers" about how and why this tragedy occurred.
"At this early stage many critical questions remain unanswered. Investigation into the circumstances surrounding Stephen's death is ongoing. We are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident or possesses photographs, videos, recordings, documents or any other information that could help shed light on what happened to please come forward," Nicastro said.
He can be reached at joe@buffalolaw.com.
"This family deserves answers. Our focus is on finding those answers, determining exactly what happened that morning and ensuring that all relevant evidence is identified and preserved. We respectfully asked that the Lockett family's request for privacy be honored as they grieve the loss of Stephen," Nicastro said.