Good Samaritan helping clean up Idalia debris dies after tree falls, crushes him in south Ga.

LOWNDES COUNTY, Ga. — A Lowndes County man died on Wednesday while helping clean up debris that fell during Hurricane Idalia.

Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk confirmed the man’s death to Channel 2′s Tom Jones.

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Paulk said two of his deputies were working to remove a tree from a road and two Good Samaritans came over to help. As deputy removed a piece of the tree, a second tree came crashing down and fell on one of the Good Samaritans.

The man died instantly. The deputy was taken to the hospital with injuries and a slight brain bleed.

Paulk told Jones that his deputy will be OK and should be released from the hospital on Thursday or Friday.

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Idalia made landfall as a category 3 on the Florida Big Bend Wednesday morning. The storm weakened to a Category 2 as it moved across Valdosta and south Georgia, but caused “vast” damage to the region.

Valdosta city officials told Channel 2′s Jorge Estevez that it could take days to reach everyone impacted by the storm.

As of Thursday morning, Georgia Power reports that 24,342 customers in Lowndes County are without power. In Georgia EMC’s South Region, there are 45,976 customers without power.

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Idalia leaves a destructive path across South Georgia Some of the worst damage so far in Georgia has been in the Valdosta area.

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