Early morning dogwalker dies in freak accident along California road

A California woman walking her dog before dawn stepped on downed power lines, and both she and the dog were killed.

The deaths occurred around 5 a.m. Wednesday along Whitesbridge Avenue (Highway 180), a rural road southeast of Mendota, Fresno County sheriff’s officials said. The woman lived in the area.

Two days earlier, a power pole along the road had caught fire and was extinguished by a crew from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The pole was apparently left weakened and toppled in the early hours of Wednesday.

In the darkness, the woman is thought to have failed to see the live wires on the ground. Emergency crews called to the scene tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate her, the sheriff’s report said.