Friends Grieve For 'Gentle Giant' Killed By Live Wire In Freehold Township

Bob Gewirtz knew something wasn't right. He walked into Tommy's Bagels In Manalapan on Thursday, and the man he knew as the "gentle giant" wasn't there.

"We'd sit there," Gewirtz said of Andrew "Drew" Powers. We'd talk about anything - sports, what he was doing on his job."

"We'd talk about what he planned to do when he retired," said Gewirtz, who is retired. "He wanted to know what it's like."

Then Gewirtz read Patch and found out the worst. Soon after, he found some JCP&L workers, some of whom worked with Powers, and they confirmed it.

Powers, a JCP&L worker for nearly 27 years, was killed when he fell on a live wire on Wednesday morning, according to police.

Ron Morano, a spokesman for the company, confirmed that Powers, 56, of Metuchen was killed while on the job in Freehold Township, but he didn't provide further information.

"This is something very tragic," he said, "and our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and co-workers."

Gewirtz said Powers stood about 6 feet 5 inches tall, but he was very soft-spoken and pleasant - hence, the nickname "Gentle Giant."

He said he and Powers just clicked one day, several years ago. Gewirtz thought he might be an athlete, and then discovered he worked for JCP&L. Most of all, he said, he was just a "nice guy" who liked to shoot the breeze.

"This guy was the nicest guy. He was a big guy, but he was a gentleman," he said.

The Freehold Police Department said that Powers was working on Kings Mountain Road around 10:14 a.m. when he fell onto a ground transformer and made contact with a live wire

Powers was unconscious when emergency personnel arrived and regained consciousness, police said, but died after being transported to CentraState Medical Center in Freehold.

Morano said the incident was under investigation.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Photo courtesy of Powers' family