Four adults hospitalized after lightning strike near school

Four adults were transported to a nearby hospital on Friday morning after a lightning strike near El Mirage Elementary School. All four individuals were conscious upon arrival at the scene. The El Mirage Police Department confirmed the injuries and the transport to medical facilities for treatment.

First responders arrived just after 8:30 a.m. following reports of the strike at the elementary school bus drop-off area. The incident occurred during the first round of fast-moving storms that passed through the Phoenix area that morning. Viewers in nearby Peoria, Sun City, and Buckeye reported hail and heavy rain beginning around 8 a.m.

El Mirage Fire Captain Joseph Rivera stated that none of the injured parties were directly struck by the lightning. He noted that one woman was holding an umbrella when the strike occurred in the vicinity. That woman reported feeling pain in both of her arms. The captain identified all four hospitalized individuals as adults.

Carrie, a librarian at the El Mirage Library across the street from the school, was performing her morning duties when the event took place. She described the immediate aftermath, saying the lightning and thunder occurred simultaneously. "The lightning and the thunder were right on top of each other, so loud that it made me jump," she said. "It felt like the building almost shook."

Carrie added that the strike was followed by a wave of car alarms. She estimated that at least a dozen vehicles went off across the street. "It’s wild," she said. "Then the rain just came down in buckets."