SPRINGVILLE — A 12-year-old girl was injured Friday night when a lightning strike 100 yards away knocked her to the ground.
The lightning struck during a football game at the northwest corner of the field at Springville High School, a police press release said. When officials called time out and evacuated the field and bleachers, they found a young girl who had been knocked to the ground by lightning, the release said.
The girl was helping at a fundraiser tent for the drill team, which her older sister is on, said the press release. The lightning traveled underground, past light poles, fences and stadium bleachers until it came to the tent the girl was holding onto, the press release said. She was attempting to steady the tent in the wind by holding the metal frame, said the press release. While she was holding it, the lightning went up from the ground into the frame and then into her right hand.
The girl was transported by ambulance to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, where she complained that her left arm and side felt weak, the press release said. Hospital personnel said her condition was not likely to be life-threatening or leave any permanent injuries, but her condition would continue to be monitored, the press release said.
— Abigail Shaha