Man struck by lightning, killed while loading van with tools in north Georgia

MOUNTAIN CITY, Ga. — A Georgia man was killed when he was struck by lightning while he loaded tools into his van over the weekend.

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Rabun County emergency officials said they were alerted to a man in his 30s who had been struck by lightning around 3:30 p.m. on Blacks Creek Drive in Mountain City.

When crews got to the scene, they found the victim unconscious and unresponsive while bystanders tried to do CPR.

Crews reported a hole in the concrete driveway the victim was lying on may have been caused by the lighting strike

The man was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he died.

The victim’s name has not been released.

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The state medical examiner’s office is working to determine the man’s final cause of death.

The man is one of just three lightning deaths recorded in the United States this year. Two other people were killed by lightning in North Carolina and California, both in the last month.

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In 2021, a 15-year-old girl died when she was struck by lightning in the water off Tybee Island. She was identified as Maiah MItchell. In 2020, a 9-year-old girl was struck by lightning and killed as she was walking in a wooded area in Moultrie. She was identified as Nicol Mateo Pedro.

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