Utility worker clearing storm debris in Alexander County dies

TAYLORSVILLE, North Carolina -- A North Carolina sheriff said a utility worker has been killed after cutting a tree which had fallen on a power line following a severe storm.

READ MORE: Heavy rain, wind cause problems across Triangle, state

Alexander County Sheriff Chris Bowman told local media outlets that 31-year-old Brian Keith Wilmoth was cutting the tree Wednesday morning. Bowman said as Wilmoth cut the tree, the power lines sprang up and threw the tree on him.

The accident occurred just before 4:30 a.m. at an intersection west of Taylorsville.

Wilmoth was identified as a worker for Asplundh Tree Expert Co. and Energy United.

He is the first confirmed fatality tied to the storms that rolled through the area on Monday.

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