BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — The woman who was struck by lightning Thursday in Superior has now been identified, the Boulder County sheriff's office said Saturday.
"Her family is now by her side, and she remains in critical condition," the announcement said.
The sheriff's office responded Thursday evening to reports that a woman had been struck by lightning along a walking path behind the 1000 block of LaSalle Street just South of Superior Elementary School. Officials described her as a white woman between 20 and 30 years old wearing running clothes.
Superior
Woman hospitalized after losing pulse in lightning strike in Superior
Bystanders had started giving her CPR immediately, the sheriff's office said. She did not have a pulse and was not breathing when first responders arrived, but after continued efforts, "she regained a faint pulse and began breathing on her own but remained unconscious," a previous announcement said.
Mountain View Fire Rescue provided advanced medical care before she was transported to a Boulder County hospital, according to the sheriff's office. She was later airlifted to a hospital in the Denver metro area.
"The bystanders were key in this kind of call," Aaron Miller, EMS Captain for Mountain View Fire Rescue, told Denver7 previously. "And most calls that we run, actually, bystanders make such a big difference."
As of 9:30 a.m. Friday, the sheriff's office said she had a regular heartbeat and was breathing on her own.
Authorities had previously been asking for the public's help in identifying her, as she did not have identification with her at the time of the lightning strike and her phone was severely damaged in the strike.
"We appreciate the community’s assistance and support during this incident," the sheriff's office said in Saturday's announcement.
Officials said Saturday that no additional information will be released at this time out of respect for her privacy.
According to the National Weather Service, lightning typically kills and injures more people in Colorado than any other thunderstorm-related hazard. Since 1980, 101 people in Colorado have been killed by lightning and 490 have been injured, the NWS reported.
If you are caught outside in lightning, the best course of action is to get inside a fully enclosed building or a vehicle. If you are in a car, do not touch any metal objects inside. The NWS recommends waiting about 30 minutes after the last thunder rumble to go back outside.
NWS warns not to seek shelter under picnic shelters, sports dugouts, trees, porches, carports or tents.
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