Firefighters: man electrocuted by downed power line in Atlanta

ATLANTA - A man walking down the road is dead after coming into contact with a downed power line, firefighters said late Friday.

It happened in the 1300 block of Northwest Drive in northwest Atlanta around 8:30 p.m. A spokesperson for the Atlanta Fire Department said the man was found dead in the middle of the roadway near the live wire.

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Witnesses told FOX 5's Randy Travis they came out to see sparks and a small fire just after the fire was downed. After the fire was out and the smoke cleared, they spotted two people walking down the streets. They yelled for them to turn around, but one person didn't hear them and stepped on the live wire.

Authorities believe the wire was downed due to the accumulated ice and snow, a problem which has been plaguing many areas under the Winter Storm Warning on Friday.

Officials are warning residents to not approached down wires, but to call 911 instead.

RELATED: Snow, ice causing power outages across North Georgia

The name of the man killed has not yet been released.