LEHI, Utah — A woman in her 50s went into cardiac arrest and was taken to a hospital in critical condition after lightning struck a tree near where her family was having a picnic Sunday night, and while other family members suffered the effects of the lightning strike, none but the woman suffered serious injury.
Battalion Chief Rick Howard, Lehi Fire Department, said the lightning strike occurred around 6:30 p.m. as the woman and her family were having a picnic in a Lehi neighborhood.
The lightning struck a tree near where the woman was standing. While not a direct hit, the strike did send the woman into cardiac arrest. The woman was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Howard said a 20-year-old woman who is pregnant was taken to a hospital as a precaution to be checked out.
Howard said other family members suffered the effects of the lightning strike, but none of their conditions were severe enough to require transport by ambulance. Howard said a few of the people went to hospitals in private vehicles to be checked out as a precaution.
While Howard said he wasn’t sure exactly how many people were at the picnic when the lightning strike occurred, he said there were at least 15 people present. It was not clear exactly how many of those people decided to travel to hospitals to be checked out.
