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3 Killed as Lightning Hits Near Madison Bus Stop (WI)
JSOnline ^ | August 22, 2007 | Patrick Marley

Posted on 08/23/2007 6:28:10 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin

(Downed power lines electrified the street)

Madison, WI - Two adults and a child were electrocuted by a downed power line on Madison's north side late Wednesday afternoon as a storm swept through the city.

Madison experienced a heavy downpour around 4 p.m. About that time, witnesses saw the victims waiting for a bus on N. Sherman Ave. when lightning hit power lines above them. The downed lines apparently electrified the area in which they were standing.

"It's a horrible tragedy with three people deceased," Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said at the scene. "It appears to be a complete accident. We're all just thinking about the victims and their families right now."

According to a Madison Police Department news release:

A mother and her child and another young child were waiting for a bus on N. Sherman Ave. As the bus approached, an electrical utility pole was struck by lightning, causing a live wire to touch the ground.

That wire ended up in a flooded portion of the curb and electrocuted the woman and her child.

Another small child was also shocked but survived.

A bus rider who saw what happened got off the bus to help but was electrocuted. The bus driver also left the bus and tried to help but was shocked and fell back inside. The injured child and bus driver were hospitalized, but their conditions were unknown Wednesday night.

Other people on the bus were uninjured.

A Madison Fire Department crew happened upon the scene on the way to another call and encountered about two feet of water in the road, said Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Lori Wirth.

The fire crew saw smoking power lines in floodwaters and the victims down on the sidewalk, she said.

"It looks like the power lines fell right where the victims were," Wirth said.

The coroner's office is handling the autopsy, identification of the bodies and the notification to survivors.

At the time of the incident, Aaron Redfern was working at a liquor store near the bus stop where the victims appeared to be waiting. He said he saw lightning strike either a utility pole or a power line where the victims were standing.

"All of a sudden lightning hit, then white light, and it looked like a firework went off," Redfern said. "The power line was sitting in the water, just smoking, smoking."

Stephanie Lincoln, 13, of Madison said she had left the library and was running to catch a bus when she saw lightning hit the power line.

She saw three people waiting for a bus and "they just dropped," Lincoln said.

Authorities shut down power in the area shortly after the incident.


TOPICS: Local News; Weather
KEYWORDS: lightning

1 posted on 08/23/2007 6:28:13 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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To: Diana in Wisconsin; MozartLover; Ladysmith; steveegg; MNbelle
So sad...

We were just there the day before.

Prayers for all involved.

2 posted on 08/23/2007 6:30:05 AM PDT by Northern Yankee (Freedom Needs A Soldier)
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To: Northern Yankee

Oh, that’s right! You do travel to ‘The People’s Republik of Madistan’ from time to time, LOL!

The latest is that it was a 28 year old Mom, her two year old daughter, and a 22 year old man who was trying to save them that were killed. The woman’s 7 year old son was also injured, but they think he’ll be released from the hospital today.

No mention of a Daddy in any news reports, so I don’t know who will take him in now. Poor kid. To see your Mom and sister killed? Yikes. However, it happened in the blink of an eye, so hopefully he won’t remember the details. *SNIF*


3 posted on 08/23/2007 12:21:08 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
Yup... We travel once every 3 months to see our daughter's endrochronologist at U.W. Children's Hospital. We go back in January for another check-up. (Earliest time we could get in...)

Thanks for the latest update.

Ya wonder.... what are the odds to have that happen? So sad!

4 posted on 08/23/2007 12:25:11 PM PDT by Northern Yankee (Freedom Needs A Soldier)
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