Beekeeper electrocuted while removing beehive
August 28, 2021 - A good deed cost a St. Petersburg man his life Wednesday after Jeffrey Johnston was electrocuted while removing a beehive. Johnston, 54, had been a beekeeper since he was 8. He and another went to the home of a fellow church member to retrieve the beehive using a bucket lift. Johnston touched an electrical wire and was pronounced dead on the scene, according to St. Petersburg police. In a 2018 interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Johnston said he averaged about 700 bee removals a year. His son, Jerick Johnston, told the Times that if the church needed a beehive removed, they called his father. Police said they believe the death was an accident.