MOUNTAIN CITY, Ga. - Officials in north Georgia believe a lightning strike was responsible for a man’s death over the weekend.
The Rabun County 911 center received a call around 3:35 p.m. Saturday reporting a man may have been struck by lightning in front of a home on Blacks Creek Drive in Mountain City.
First responders arrived at the home to find the man unconscious next to a work van. Officials said bystanders were performing CPR on him.
A freshly made hole in the concrete driveway measuring about six to eight inches was found at his feet, officials said.
He was rushed to Mountain Lakes Medical Center in Clayton where he died.
Officials have not released his name, but said he was in his 30s.
The cause of death is still under investigation.
The National Weather Service issued two alerts for the area before the 911 call. It described how radar was tracking a storm that was about four miles east of Mountain City and was nearly stationary. The alert described "frequent cloud to ground lightning" in the storm and said "lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm." It advised residents in the area to seek shelter.