Family, friends honor man electrocuted in South Jordan incident

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HERRIMAN — Hundreds of people lined the streets in Herriman with flags as more than a dozen construction trucks and big rigs drove by, honking their horns in honor of a man who lost his life at a construction site in South Jordan.

Police said they received a call shortly after 8:15 a.m. Monday about an electrical explosion and a fire that occurred in the area of 3700 West and 11400 South.

Witnesses located 50-year-old Shaun Robertson, but sadly, he died before paramedics arrived.

Robertson worked for Newman Construction and had been contracted by Rocky Mountain Power to put in an underground conduit from one location to the other.

"Everybody has asked, 'What can we do? What can we do?'" said Amy Stocking, Shaun's sister.

Things came together in a two-day notice.

"Everybody just jumped in to help — put up flags — and it was amazing, really amazing," said family friend Clint Johnson.

"This morning, I saw people putting up flags out my window and I thought, 'What holiday is it? What's going on?'" said Cathy Robertson, Shaun's wife.

But what Cathy didn't realize was her friends brought over trucks, flags and all things dearly loved by her husband just for her family.

"Heroes don't wear uniforms, sometimes they're digging in the dirt, and he dug in the dirt," said Clint. "He's a great man. He's the best, and we'll miss him."

Shaun Robertson, 50, known as "Buckner" to friends, worked as a directional drilling foreman.

"Everybody knew Buckner," said Johnson.

Friends say he treated everyone like family.

Herriman: Hundreds gather to pay their respects to one of their own, Shaun "Buckner" Robertson, who died Monday while working on a crew installing underground lines in South Jordan. Story at 4:30 p.m. on @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/q2EjAbZg0T
— Garna Mejia KSL (@GarnaMejiaKSL) January 10, 2021

"He was such a hard worker and such a good friend," said Clint. "If you met him, he was your friend."

On Monday, Buckner was at construction site in South Jordan installing underground power lines when tragedy struck.

"I do know in a way, and I don't know in a way," said Cathy. "Trey was with him."

"He either slipped or something, I don't know," said son Trey Robertson. "I couldn't see anything that happened. It was just heat of the moment and things happened too fast."

Shaun was pronounced dead shortly before emergency personnel arrived.

"I'm just very overwhelmed and trying to get through it," said Trey.

"I don't have words to describe how much he meant to so many people," said Clint Johnson.

So when words just won't do, a big display of honor is the least you can do for a man that doesn't need a cape to be a superhero.

"He would probably be upset with everybody for doing this much fuss for him," said Cathy. "He was just so humble."

"It was a hard loss because if there was one guy you could count on, it was him," said Clint.