Lightning Strikes Mother and Child in North Carolina Parking Lot

September 28, 2008

Fayetteville, N.C. — A mother and her 18-month-old child were struck by lightning Friday just after 4 p.m. outside a TJ Maxx store in Fayetteville. The pair were headed toward the store at 5027 Morganton Road when the strike happened, according to Scott Iverson of the Fayetteville Fire Department.

Iverson said the woman was carrying her child and holding an umbrella as they walked across the parking lot. The woman was

"The umbrella was obviously struck at the top, and we have burns at the bottom of the umbrella where she was holding it," he said.

Iverson said a soldier who was in the parking lot at the time of the strike performed CPR on the woman, reviving her before paramedics arrived.

Multiple media outlets reported that a Fort Bragg spokeswoman identified the woman as a soldier from Fort Bragg.

The woman was reportedly in critical condition Monday at the North Carolina Jaycees Burn Center at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill while her son was in stable condition.