FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — A teenager was killed and two others injured when they were struck by lightning Monday afternoon.
Deputies from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and emergency personnel responded to the scene around 3:30 p.m. near Elverton Road in Fayetteville, where they found three 17-year-old males hurt.
The boys were fishing at a local pond when a severe thunderstorm hit and lightning struck a tree where they were standing.
All three males were taken to Plateau Medical Center. The conditions of the surviving teens were not released.
Sheriff Steve Kessler said the incident appeared to be “a very tragic freak accident.”
John Jensenius, a lightning safety specialist with the National Weather Service, told NBC News this was the sixth lightning-related death in the U.S. this year.