California woman Madeline Kelly, dog electrocuted after stepping on downed powerline

A California woman and her dog were killed in a freak accident Wednesday when they stepped on a downed powerline while out for an early morning walk.

The woman — identified by family as Madeline Kelly — and the pup were electrocuted around 5 a.m. in Mendota, a city 30 miles west of Fresno.

“It appears the pole and wires recently fell to the ground and she did not see them due to darkness and walked into the live wires, killing her and the dog,” the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.

Kelly’s boyfriend was the first to find her and the pooch, her family told KMPH.

Officials believe the lines dropped in the wake of a vegetation fire that broke out in the area two days earlier.

The flames “scorched” the power pole, weakening it and allowing the still-live wires to drop to the ground, according to police.

PG&E, the utility company that operates the lines, responded to the tragic incident Wednesday.

The company was not alerted to the fire, however, because the vegetation fire did not appear to have affected the power lines at that time, a spokesperson told KMPH.

“We are working with first responders to investigate the circumstances of the tragic accident in Mendota this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been impacted,” they said in a statement.

Kelly’s family is calling the incident “sudden and horrifically shocking.”

Her mother, Melissa Rust, is left unsettled by the freak accident and said she has been left with more questions than answers surrounding the tragedy.

“It was a wrongful death, in my opinion. It was a wrong way to die. She had a lot of life left to go. The fact that someone may have been negligent that caused her death, you know, it breaks my heart,” said Rust.