2 killed after lightning strike at soccer field in Houston
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Two people are dead and another is injured after lightning struck at a soccer complex in north Houston on Sunday afternoon.
Just before noon on Sunday, storm clouds rolled over the La Escondida Soccer Club fields at West Hardy while hundreds were on the field.
Thunder rumbled and rain began to pour, prompting three players in the men's soccer league to scramble under a tree near the edge of the fields to wait out the sudden storm.
Then the lightning struck the tree, killing one of the men instantly while the other two were transported to Ben Taub General Hospital, where another victim later died.
Harris County Sheriff's Office Deputy Joe Shriver, who was at the field, ran toward the tree after the lightning hit to find the three men lying motionless on the ground.
Deputies found a large hole in his heel where the lightning hit and jagged lines like a fern down his back, Shriver said
"Nothing I've ever seen before in my almost 22 years of law enforcement," Deputy Shriver told the Houston Chronicle.
"It hit the top of the tree and it's just like sparks and fire going all the way down the tree and when it hit the ground it just dispersed out."
Authorities have not released the names of any of the men.
The deadly lightning was part of the continuing storms that brought a total rainfall this past week to more than 16 inches in some areas of Harris County.
Sunday's deaths mark the 12th and 13th victims of lightning in the U.S. this year, officials said.
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| Sheriff's Deputy Joe Shriver points to where he saw the first victim that was killed by a lighting strike Photo: AP |
Just before noon on Sunday, storm clouds rolled over the La Escondida Soccer Club fields at West Hardy while hundreds were on the field.
Thunder rumbled and rain began to pour, prompting three players in the men's soccer league to scramble under a tree near the edge of the fields to wait out the sudden storm.
Then the lightning struck the tree, killing one of the men instantly while the other two were transported to Ben Taub General Hospital, where another victim later died.
Harris County Sheriff's Office Deputy Joe Shriver, who was at the field, ran toward the tree after the lightning hit to find the three men lying motionless on the ground.
Deputies found a large hole in his heel where the lightning hit and jagged lines like a fern down his back, Shriver said
"Nothing I've ever seen before in my almost 22 years of law enforcement," Deputy Shriver told the Houston Chronicle.
"It hit the top of the tree and it's just like sparks and fire going all the way down the tree and when it hit the ground it just dispersed out."
Authorities have not released the names of any of the men.
The deadly lightning was part of the continuing storms that brought a total rainfall this past week to more than 16 inches in some areas of Harris County.
Sunday's deaths mark the 12th and 13th victims of lightning in the U.S. this year, officials said.
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