Falling tree kills man clearing roads after Hurricane Idalia, Georgia sheriff says
A falling tree “instantly” killed a man clearing storm debris in the wake of Hurricane Idalia, a Georgia sheriff told news outlets.
It happened Wednesday, Aug. 30, as two people were helping remove a fallen tree blocking a road in Lowndes County, the Valdosta Daily Times reported, citing Sheriff Ashley Paulk.
That’s when a second tree came falling down, crushing one of them.
“The guy was ... just a local citizen doing good things,” Paulk told The Associated Press. “A big gust of wind came up and dropped another tree, (which) killed him instantly.”
Authorities didn’t release the man’s name.
McClatchy News reached out to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday and was awaiting a response.
A deputy was injured by the tree and taken to a hospital with a slight brain bleed, Paulk told WSB-TV. The deputy is expected to be released in the coming days.
The second person also suffered serious injuries, according to the AP.
Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm early Wednesday, Aug. 30, per the National Hurricane Center.
The storm packed maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, but weakened as it barreled across south Georgia late Wednesday afternoon. Still, it left a path of destruction in its wake.
Lowndes County Emergency Management officials on Thursday urged people to stay off the roads as utility crews worked to clear downed power lines and other dangerous debris.
Lowndes County is about 230 miles southeast of Atlanta, near the Florida-Georgia line.
This story was originally published August 31, 2023 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Falling tree kills man clearing roads after Hurricane Idalia, Georgia sheriff says."