ATLANTA — One teenager was killed and another injured following a lightning strike in Cobb County on Tuesday.
It happened at the Windwood Apartments on Shenandoah Trail in Austell at about 5 p.m. as a result of Tuesday's storms.
A representative for the Cobb County Fire Department told Channel 2 Action News that two young girls were standing under a tree when a storm rolled through the area. Channel 2 Action News reporter Linda Stouffer arrived at the scene a short time later and started gathering details on the victims.
The two girls were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where one of them was pronounced dead, Channel 2 confirmed.
Several people at the scene, including members of the victims' family, identified the deceased teenager as 16-year-old Chaquille Hunter. The surviving teen was identified as Hunter's 15-year-old cousin.
"They were hiding under the tree and the lighting struck both of them. Her heart stopped, and the other girl's heart stopped too. They got to revive the other girl, but she is not fully recovered," said Candy Peeples, an aunt of one of the victims.
Part of the tree was split by the lightning.
"The rule of thumb is that if you can hear thunder, there is a chance that you can be struck by lightning," said Severe Weather Team 2 chief meteorologist Glenn Burns.
Burns, along with meteorologist David Chandley, tracked a line of thunderstorms that passed through metro Atlanta and north Georgia. Much of the area was under a severe thunderstorm watch before it was later lifted.
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"Any storms that develop are capable of producing damaging winds in excess of 60 mph, frequent lightning and torrential downpours," Chandley had said of the watch.
WSBTV
