Georgia Power Worker Recovering After Gas Explosion

MILTON, Ga. - A Georgia Power worker who was burned over 80 percent of his body in a gas explosion on Thursday has been identified, and he continues to recover at an Atlanta hospital.

Authorities say 25-year-old Kylan Warren of Ackworth was caught in the explosion that happened when crews trying to install a new power poll drilled into a gas line. The incident happened at Birmingham Highway at Tramore Place in the city of Milton.

Milton Police Capt. Shawn McCarty said the fire started when a Georgia Power crew was replacing a power line pole north of Dorris Road. At 1:31 p.m. the drill used to dig a new hole hit a gas line, sparking an explosion.

Warren, a Georgia Power worker at the, site was caught in the explosion and jumped some 30 feet from a work truck's bucket to escape the flames. He sustained burns over 80 percent of his body and was flown by helicopter to Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital, where he is still recovering.

Birmingham Highway (Ga. 372) was closed between Dorris and Providence Roads due to the fire for several hours on Thursday night, but it has since reopened to drivers.

Investigators were back at the scene Friday trying to determine what caused the gas line explosion.