An AT&T employee in Georgia dies from electrocution

(Image: AT&T/Graphics: The Desk)

An AT&T employee working in rural Georgia died this week after being electrocuted on the job, according to local media reports.

The incident happened Tuesday in Henry County when 44-year-old James Suttles was in a bucket attached to a utility vehicle.

According to WSB-TV (Channel 2), Suttles was lowering the bucket to stow it on his work truck when the bucket made contact with loaded utility lines.

Eyewitnesses say they heard an explosion and saw a fire igniting immediately after the incident. The blast damaged the utility lines that Suttles was working on, leaving residents without power for several hours.

WSB-TV said Suttles was an AT&T employee for 24 years. It was unclear whether he left relatives behind.

An AT&T spokesman told the Atlantic Journal-Constitution that the company was “deeply saddened to learn of the death of our employee in this tragic accident.”

The utility is cooperating with law enforcement investigators, the newspaper said.