U. S. News

Four critically hurt after lightening strikes near White House

Four people were taken to Washington area hospitals with life-threatening injuries after lightning struck near the White House amid a strong storm that blew through the U.S. capital.

The U.S. Secret Service, along with U.S. Park Police, rushed to help two females and two males after seeing a large bolt of lightning strike an area in Lafayette Square, according to Vito Maggiolo, who is a public information officer for D.C. Fire and EMS who spoke to NBC Washington.

The area is just across from the White House, within a short walking distance. Authorities could not give exact injuries or an update on the victim’s statuses as of late Thursday night.

As NBC Washington reported, a witness named David Root said he was “in a state of shock.” He said, “I just couldn’t believe it. Was surreal. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life.”

Root described hearing “a horrific boom” and said he goes to Lafayette Square park in the evening to show support for the people of Ukraine.

A camera trained on the White House used by television stations captured the moment the bolt of lightning hit the area.

Mike Thomas, a meteorologist in Washington, said the bolt “clearly hits either the ground or [a] nearby tree” because sparks are visible in the video.

Maggiolo told the New York Times that “Trees of course, are not safe places” during storms. Lafayette Square is covered in shade trees located in downtown D.C. in an area near tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants and bars.

The strike happened around 6:50 p.m. local time, where the two men and two women were located, in an area across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House in Lafayette Square, in their “immediate vicinity,” Maggiolo said.

The CDC says about 90% of people survive lightning strikes, and the odds of being struck by lightning in any given year is less than one in a million.

Raymond Simpson

Raymond Simpson is a California native, a longtime Coral Springs resident, and the Editor at TSFD. He lives with his family in Coral Springs, where you can find him on weekends running – literally running – with his two golden retrievers.

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