One person was killed and several others suffered minor injuries from a lightning strike in South Carolina on Thursday, officials said.
The person who was killed was under a tree at Lawshe Plantation in Georgetown County when the lightning hit, according to Georgetown County Fire and EMS officials. The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area at the time of the strike.
“I was chilling there in the house and the next thing I knew there was someone banging there on the door,” Edward Williams told Florence, South Carolina, ABC affiliate WPDE. “And I was just thinking like, ‘I’m sure everyone is out of the river by now.’ It was a little kid in a panic that said a bunch of people got struck by lightning and he wanted me to call 911.”
The victims were all taken to Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital.
This is the tree that was struck by lighting killing one person & injuring two others. I spoke with the man who called 9-1-1. He said he had no internet or phone service..then all the sudden it went online just long enough for him to call for help. He calls it divine intervention pic.twitter.com/lFLy9ozBs1
— Sydney Glenn (@SydneyGlennTV) July 4, 2019
Ryan Gamble, 44, from Georgetown County, was hospitalized in critical condition and later died, officials said.
In addition to the death, Tidelands Health told WPDE it had admitted eight people in fair condition, with three being treated and released.
One person who was not seriously injured told WPDE that they were swimming at the time and left the water and were under a tree when the lightning strike happened.
“We were in the water — a storm came fast,” Billie Camlin told WPDE. “We couldn’t get back and it was either sit in the rain and then the lightning hit and it got the tree and then it hit every one of us.”
I guess Mr. Gamble took a bad bet that he would be safe under that tree. I remember being taught way back in elementary school that no one should ever stand under a tree during a thunder storm.
They no longer offer common sense life saving advice in schools.
LGBQTUVWXYZ anybody? Anybody?
BUELLER!??
Common sense has been replaced with Common (more like commie) Core.
WHEN I WAS A CHILD MY DAD HAD A FEW CATTLE.
LIGHTNING STRUCK THE FENCE ONCE AND KILLED 2 OF THEM.
WHEN MY SON WAS LITTLE, HIS MOM ,HIM, AND ME WOULD GO FILM CLOSE BY ELECTRICAL STORMS. LIGHTNING DOES STRANGE THINGS MAN.
ONLY AN IDIOT WOULD STAND UNDER A TREE. ESPECIALLY ON AN IRON ORE HILL .
THEIR ARE IRON DEPOSITS EVERYWHERE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
I guess he never heard the song, “Pennies from heaven” which has a lyric line:
“…But when you hear thunder
Don’t stand under a tree….”
Same with metallic rock surfaces out here in the mountains…thunder or no thunder, we gets lots of lightning. Up above our property there are burned out dead trees everywhere. Lightning, not wild fire.
More dead people… interesting that he made his mountain of mammon in coal.
Especially since they’re doing their best to kill that industry in this country.
Accident? No details as to the cause.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-05/billionaire-coal-tycoon-dies-helicopter-crash