Local officials delivered a sad announcement in the state of Florida, saying that a mom was killed on Thursday, August 18, after she was hit by lightning near a park. Her kid was also hospitalized because of the lightning strike, but the current condition of the child is not clear at the moment, according to CBS News.
Cops in Winter Springs, which is located just north of Orlando, said that they responded to reports on Thursday afternoon that multiple people had been struck by lightning near a local park. Authorities immediately provided lifesaving aid to the mom and child and both of them were hospitalized.
Authorities did not identify the victim, saying that they did not release the name out of respect for her privacy. They added that the city staff extends their deepest condolences to the family and will keep them in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
Lightning strike claims three victims in D.C.
Lightning strikes are rare as the odds of a person being struck by lightning in a given year are less than one in a million, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That being said, multiple people have already been killed this year because of lightning strikes.
Lightning in Washington, D.C., killed three people and critically injured another person earlier this month. Amber Escudero-Kontostathis, the only survivor of that tragic lightning strike, shared her story in a compelling interview with NBC.
Escudero-Kontostathis' recovery has been miraculous to say the least as doctors were not sure she would survive the lightning strike in the first place. She is now making big strides in her recovery, much to the amazement of her doctors.
Amber Escudero-Kontostathis shares her miraculous escape
She told NBC Washington that she is not sure why she was the one that pulled through, but she is definitely grateful and she is not going to waste her second chance at life. Escudero-Kontostathis was standing near the White House on the night of August 4 as she was trying to raise money for refugees.
A storm suddenly popped up in the area, forcing her and three others to take shelter under a tree in Lafayette Square. That decision proved to be fatal as lightning struck the tree moments later, injuring her and killing three others.
California native Brooks Lambertson was visiting D.C. for work while Donna and James and Mueller were visiting Washington D.C. from Wisconsin to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They all died from their injuries.
A soldier was also killed in a lightning strike weeks earlier at a Georgia Army base. While almost every state in the country has reported a lightning strike, the CDC calls Florida the lightning capital of the United States. According to the federal agency more than 2,000 incidences of lightning injuries have been recorded in Florida in the last 50 years. The CDC added that more than 30 people have died from the strikes in Florida.
