Teenager struck by lighting
RUSSELLVILLE — A 19-year-old woman is recovering after being struck by lightning while talking on a cellphone Saturday.
Emergency personnel responded just after 1 p.m. When personnel arrived on the scene in the Oak Hill subdivision, the woman said she was on her cellphone and had it connected to a charging cord in an outlet while she was using it.
The lightning was due to a pop-up storm which moved across Franklin County that afternoon.
It was unknown whether lightning had hit a house or an outbuilding, Franklin County Emergency Management Director Mary Hallman-Glass said.
“She was responsive when they took her to the hospital,” Hallman-Glass said. “I think she is going to be OK.
“This just serves as a reminder that people should not be on their cellphones while they are connected to an outlet when a storm is passing through.”
This marks the second person to be struck by lightning this year in Franklin County.
A 26-year-old woman was transported to UAB Medical Center in Birmingham in mid-March after being struck by lightning on Franklin County Road 48, just east of Russellville.
