Woman and her pet dog fall to the ground in convulsive FITS during freak accident while jogging on sidewalk
A Pittsburgh woman and her dog were electrocuted while jogging in the Strip District, collapsing into convulsions after a live electrical current traveled through a rain-soaked sidewalk near a light pole.
A Pittsburgh woman and her dog were knocked to the ground in violent convulsions by a live electrical current while jogging on a city sidewalk, authorities confirmed.
The shocking incident unfolded on Tuesday afternoon near a light pole at Smallman Street and 11th Street in the Strip District.
Montana Mitchell said her dog, Denim, suddenly began howling and seizing after stepping onto rain-soaked concrete charged with electricity.
Mitchell was shocked herself while trying to free her dog, collapsing amid what officials now believe was a stray current leaking from a city-owned streetlight pole.
The incident that has triggered an urgent investigation and renewed fears following a similar deadly electrocution in Pittsburgh less than two years ago.
'He reacted like he was being tased,' Mitchell later wrote in a lengthy Instagram post.
Witnesses said both Mitchell and the dog went down, their bodies seizing, as the electrical current surged through the streetlight pole and into the rain-soaked concrete beneath their feet.
Mitchell said the moment turned frantic as she tried to save her dog.
Montana Mitchell is seen recovering in her hospital bed after a routine jog turned terrifying when a live electrical current surged through a city sidewalk causing her to convulse
Both Mitchell and Denim were hospitalized and later released, physically stable but shaken. Denim is seen in a younger photo
City officials confirmed the pole involved was city-owned and has since been taken offline
'I was shocked through him while trying to rip off his collar and drag him to safety,' she wrote.
A passerby, whom Mitchell later described as a 'guardian angel', stopped, helped pull Denim away from the pole, and drove Mitchell back to her car.
From there, the ordeal escalated into a race for medical care.
Denim was rushed to an emergency veterinary hospital, where doctors ran a battery of tests amid fears he had suffered internal injuries.
Mitchell also went to the emergency room herself.
'Physically okay,' she wrote. 'Emotionally, still very shaken.'
Doctors said Denim may have fluid in his lungs and is being closely monitored, but tests so far have been normal.
Mitchell was released after her own tests came back clear.
Mitchell shared her story publicly to warn other runners and dog owners about the hidden danger
The incident happened near Smallman Street and 11th Street in Pittsburgh’s Strip District
Her dog, Denim, had violent convulsions after stepping onto electrified rain-soaked concrete near a light pole
She said she agonized over whether to make the incident public but ultimately decided others needed to know.