Lighting strike leaves four injured at Indiana softball field

A lightning strike at a softball practice has left the town of Seymour, Ind., reeling after four girls on the Seymour (Ind.) High team were taken to the hospital when a bolt of lightning struck one girl directly and injured three others.

As local CBS affiliate WISH-TV in Indiana and the Seymour Tribune reported, the Seymour team was preparing for practice when they noticed a storm a couple miles off in the distance. With the severe weather not posing a threat to the practice, the team continued warming up.

But just moments before they were about to take the field, a bolt of lighting came out of nowhere and struck Seymour freshman Emily Bobb; three others -- Kristin George, a sophomore, Kelsey Nolting, a junior, and Carlee Westfall, a senior -- were also injured during the strike, but all three were reportedly nowhere near Bobb at the time.

"Only Emily was struck by lightning, and the other three girls were taken to the hospital after it was determined they were complaining of headaches or similar issues," Seymour Community Schools Superintendent Teran Armstrong told the Seymour Tribune. "They were not struck by lightning and were really nowhere near Emily."

Bobb was rushed to Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health in critical condition, while the three others players were taken to Shenck Medical Center in Seymour with non-life-threatening injuries. They were later released on Thursday evening. Riley Hospital confirmed with the Seymour Tribune that Bobb was in critical but stable condition on Thursday night.

While some might question what the team was even doing on the field in the first place, officials were quick to point out that the skies were clear prior to the accident. It would appear this really was a freak lightning strike. You just hope the freshman player in critical condition pulls through and is able to get back on the field in the future.

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