Stillwater girl dies after being hit by lightning

Taylor Zimmerman, 14, went outside to play in the rain, when lightning hit a tree in the front yard and leaped to her.

By VINCE TUSS, Star Tribune

Last update: July 22, 2009 - 7:14 AM

A 14-year-old Stillwater girl died Tuesday afternoon after being hit by lightning while playing in the rain outside her home.

Taylor Zimmerman was not breathing and had no pulse when police, fire crews and paramedics were called to her house on the 1000 block of 6th Street S. about 3 p.m., Stillwater police Sgt. Chris Felsch said. About halfway to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, paramedics were able to restore her pulse, Felsch said.

However, at 8 p.m., Molly Snyder, a spokeswoman for Gillette Children's Hospital, which has a partnership with Regions, said Taylor had died. She did not have an exact time of death, but said it was during the afternoon hours.

Taylor's family asked for privacy but issued a statement thanking people for their support and sympathy and saying, "Taylor was a wonderful girl and we will miss her tremendously."

When the storm blew in, the first of a wave to move across the metro area on Tuesday afternoon, Taylor told a 14-year-old friend who was over playing that they should "go out and run around in the rain," Felsch said. They had changed into swimsuits and had just gone outside when lightning struck a tree in the yard, he said.

Taylor had been running under the tree, Felsch said, while the friend, was standing by the door. The lightning hit the tree and was transferred to Taylor, he said.

Neighbors knew little about Taylor and the family, saying they had moved into the neighborhood in the past few months.

The power of the lightning was obvious in the house's front yard Tuesday night. A strip of the tree devoid of bark ran up and down the tree for a dozen feet or more. Shards of wood and leaves were scattered about the yard.

Neighbors home at the time of the strike saw flashes of light all around their houses and heard a big boom. Many feared their houses had been hit.

Wayne Henningsgaard was home doing the dishes in front of a window when he saw an instant, orange flash.

"I knew it had hit somewhere in the neighborhood, but you didn't want to go outside because it was raining so hard," he said.

Before Tuesday, 23 people in the United States had died this year because of lightning, according to the National Weather Service. That includes a 42-year-old man in St. Cloud who was struck in May while doing yard work.

The best way to avoid lightning is go inside during a thunderstorm, the Weather Service advises. If you can't get indoors, you can reduce the odds of being hit by lightning by staying away from tall trees and other objects.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were posted across the metro area, with most expiring before 6 p.m. Hail was widely reported including one report of 1¾-inch-size hail in Washington County east of St. Paul Park.

Vince Tuss • 612-673-7692