9-year-old boy killed by lightning outside his Ohio home

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A 9-year-old boy has died after being struck by lightning Wednesday afternoon outside his rural home, officials report.

"The original dispatch came in as struck by lightning, not breathing," said Todd Shroyer, director of the Coshocton County Emergency Medical Services. "We don't have any reason to doubt that, based on what we saw."

Medics were called at 12:35 p.m. to the 28000 block of Jefferson Township Road 341 and "worked everything we could" before taking the boy to Coshocton County Memorial Hospital, Shroyer said.

He was later pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the Coshocton County Sheriff's Office.

"We don't know if (the strike) was direct or indirect," Shroyer said. "That's what the little sister thought she saw."

The children were outside, a couple of minutes away from their house, when a thunderstorm blew in, Shroyer said. The sister ran back to get her mother, who called 911.

Visit redcross.org for thunderstorm safety tips.

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