track athlete killed by lightning today

[katsmom]

Please don't take any chances when it comes to lightning this Spring. A high school track athlete was struck by lightning and killed today at a track meet we attended at his school in Carbondale, IL. He was walking through a field near the pole vault pit (which we had covered and shut down due to the weather). The weather was typical for Spring - light showers that were passing through; half the sky was clear and the other half cloudy. A little thunder could be heard in the distance and lightning appeared once or twice miles away. Suddenly an enormous lightning strike hit near the field and people saw him laying on the ground. Our coach performed CPR until the ambulance arrived but he was never revived.

[rainbowgirl28]

I am really sorry to hear that

Definitely something for pole vaulters to be especially conscious of. Vaulting in the rain is a pain, but doable. Vaulting in lightning - no way!!!

[pvgrl09]

omg... i have a track meet tomorrow and it is supposed to be stormy.
this like freaks me out, mann!!!
sorry to hear such things happened!!!
<3

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.wsiltv.com/p/news_details.ph ... 2173&type=

Carbondale Student Killed By Lightning
CARBONDALE, Ill --The Jackson County Coroner confirms an 18 year old student is dead after being hit by lightning around 4 PM Thursday.

Eyewitnesses say it happened at a track meet in Carbondale. The track meet was shut down as the victim was taken from the grounds of the high school by ambulance to the hospital in Carbondale.

The student was a Carbondale runner who was out watching a friend pole vault. Upon heading back into the track area administrators say they heard a loud boom and saw the boy fall to the ground. According to Carbondale Principal Vicki King after several attempts to resuscitate the boy, paramedics pronounced him dead upon arrival to the hospital.

Classes at Carbondale High School are canceled for Friday as a result of the incident.

The National Weather Service Office confirms that it recorded at least two lightening strikes in Carbondale around 4 PM.

More on this story on News 3 at 10 PM

[tigervaulter727]

this is so sad, im so sorry.

my heart goes out to you all!

[katsmom]

Becca - I called the TV station when I saw your post and told them that their facts were wrong - the boy was not watching anyone pole vault when he was hit. The pit was covered and the vaulters were elsewhere. I hate to see the pole vault connected to this tragedy.

[Sean/vaulter/naeS]

That is really to bad, I'm sorry for his team mates and family. Please be carefull this season everybody.

[rainbowgirl28]

Becca - I called the TV station when I saw your post and told them that their facts were wrong - the boy was not watching anyone pole vault when he was hit. The pit was covered and the vaulters were elsewhere. I hate to see the pole vault connected to this tragedy.

Good idea. Hopefully they got it fixed for their evening broadcast.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://media.www.siude.com/media/storag ... 3933.shtml

High school student killed by lightning
By Brandon Augsburg
Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: City
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A junior at Carbondale Community High School was struck and killed by lightning Thursday afternoon during a track meet between Carbondale, Cairo and Carterville.

The boy's name has not been released, but Principal Vicky King said the whole school is in turmoil after the popular student's sudden death.

"It's a tragedy, you know, it's a real nightmare for everybody," she said.

King said the boy was struck by lightning shortly after the meet began near the jumping pits in a field on the northwest end of campus. Witnesses said the storms had already passed and there was no rain or lightning in the area, she said.

The lightning seemed to come out of nowhere, and King said witnesses told her there was a "huge pop and that was it."

King said members of the high school's athletic training staff were on hand almost immediately and paramedics arrived shortly thereafter, but both parties were unable to resuscitate the student.

Friday classes at the high school have been canceled, but King said the building will remain open for any students who seek counseling, and extra counselors will be on hand to help grieving students. The high school's Lifesaver Program, a group of about 100 students specially trained to help their peers through difficult times, will also be available for students, she said.

[rainbowgirl28]

The AP has picked the story up, so it was in quite a few places today:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17872392/

High school runner killed by lightning strike
'It came out of nowhere,' Carbondale, Ill. high school baseball coach says

Updated: 15 minutes ago
CARBONDALE, Ill. - A lightning strike killed a high school runner as he left a pole vault pit shortly before a track meet, the county coroner said.

"It came out of nowhere,'' said Scott Hankey, Carbondale Community High School's baseball coach, whose team was preparing for a game nearby. "There was a very, very light rain. There wasn't anything in the way of dark clouds. It didn't look anything like a thunderstorm.''

Corey Williams, 18, was returning to the main track area from the pole vault pit about 4 p.m. when the lightning bolt hit him. Coaches and others tried to revive him, but he was declared dead by the time he reached a hospital.

Thomas Kupferer, Jackson County's coroner, confirmed that lightning killed the teenager.

More than 200 people attended a candlelight vigil for Williams on Thursday night, and classes at the school were canceled Friday to give the students time to grieve.



Other stories:


http://www.southernillinoisan.com/artic ... 6i5402.txt

Carbondale student killed by lightning at high school track meet


CARBONDALE, Ill. - A lightning bolt that seemed to strike out of nowhere hit a high school student shortly before his track meet, killing the 18-year-old.

Classes at Carbondale Community High School were canceled Friday to allow teenagers to mourn the death of Corey Williams, who witnesses said was returning to the main track area from the pole vault pit about 4 p.m. Thursday when the lightning hit. It was his school's first track meet of the season.




"It came out of nowhere," said Scott Hankey, the school's baseball coach whose team was preparing to play Murphysboro near the track area. "There was a very, very light rain. There wasn't anything in the way of dark clouds. It didn't look anything like a thunderstorm."

"It sounded like a sonic boom," Nick Evans, a member of the 1,600-meter relay team with Williams, said of the lightning.

Williams, who was among the area's top 110-meter hurdlers last year, was declared dead on arrival at a hospital, despite efforts at the scene by the opposing track team's coach and others to revive the teenager.

Thomas Kupferer, Jackson County's coroner, confirmed that lightning killed Williams.

More than 200 people, including students from Carterville, turned out for a candlelight vigil Thursday night. Classmate Robert Krajewski described Williams as laid back and "just a really nice guy."

Though classes were canceled Friday at the high school, which has about 1,200 students, the building was available for students to gather and meet with grief counselors.

Dan McCarthy, a severe-weather expert, said Friday the relatively mild conditions at the time were "somewhat inconsequential" in explaining why witnesses said the lightning appeared to strike without warning.

"Unfortunately, these things do happen," said McCarthy, a meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. "As long as there's a possibility of a thunderstorm, there's a likelihood of lightning.

"Unfortunately, the first lightning strike is the most dangerous one. You really have to keep an eye on the sky," he said.

Messages left Friday at the school were not immediately returned.

"It's really hard to imagine that this has happened," said Dennis Ragan, the school's wrestling coach who worked with Williams in freshman football and, for a time, wrestling. "He was a super young man."

On the Net:

Carbondale Community High School, http://www.cchs165.jacksn.k12.il.us



http://www.southernillinoisan.com/artic ... 780283.txt

Lightning clears baseball, softball fields at Superblock

By Todd Hefferman, The Southern


CARBONDALE - Lightning struck at 4:02 p.m. That's when the four teams on Carbondale's Superblock ball diamonds were immediately pulled off the fields, according to Carbondale Athletic Director Rick Moss.

That's also exactly when Carbondale junior Corey Williams was killed as he was preparing for the day's track meet at the neighboring Bleyer Field.



There are no rock-solid guidelines to treating inclement weather from the National Federation of State High School Associations, which governs prep sports in accredited states such as Illinois. Whether they're softball or soccer coaches, all high school sports leaders generally follow the rule of waiting at least 30 minutes after lightning is spotted before continuing play, Moss said.

The NFHS does recommend that once lightning has been recognized, teams wait at least 30 minutes after the last flash of lightning is witnessed or thunder is heard. This rule is also recommended by the National Weather Service. The association also recommends that game officials have a system of monitoring possible inclement weather and an exit plan for spectators and athletes.

From all accounts Thursday, Carbondale Community High School followed the rules.

"You hear it happening more with football more than anything, when you see lightning, you get off the field, get everybody under cover for 30 minutes," Moss said. "When that bolt hit at 4:02, and I knew exactly when it hit because I looked at my watch, we pulled everybody off of baseball and softball, and went to track, and when I got to track, the tragedy had already occurred.

"There was no indication. We've all been around it before. You don't want to call it an act of God, because I always call an act of God a good thing."

Carbondale's softball team was scheduled to play Murphysboro at 4:30 p.m., but never got started, Terrier coach Kim Wheeler said. The two squads were still going through their pre-game practices when they were pulled off the field, Wheeler said.

"We saw the lightning strike, it was the first, and we pulled everybody off," Wheeler said. "We did everything we were supposed to do. And there was no warning. It was drizzling, and nothing like it was going to have any heavy rain or anything."

The two squads were planning on continuing, Wheeler said, but when Moss called about Williams, the game was called. Carbondale's scheduled game with Warren Township, which was supposed to start at 7 p.m., also was called off. Neither game will be rescheduled.

Carbondale and Murphysboro baseball teams were preparing for their 4:30 p.m. start when the lightning struck. The game originally was scheduled to be at Murphysboro, Carbondale coach Scott Hankey said, but was moved to the Superblock in an effort to get it in.

There would be no game.

"It's up to the umpires, and the coaches and the athletic director to see what to do about the game, and after what happened, we cancelled the game because we didn't want to see anyone else get hurt," Hankey said. "A lot of our kids actually knew the kid very well, so their heads weren't in the game, anyway."

Hankey also said there wasn't any warning of lightning or an impending storm.

"It came out of nowhere," he said. "There was a very, very light rain. There wasn't anything in the way of dark clouds. It didn't look anything like a thunderstorm."

The game has not been rescheduled, Hankey said.





http://www.southernillinoisan.com/artic ... 781506.txt

"It's OK to cry"

by andrea hahn and todd hefferman, the southern



Meagan Matthias and Maggie Hill both seniors at Carbondale Community High School console one another during the candlelight virgil at Turley Park. (CHUCK NOVARA / THE SOUTHERN)

CARBONDALE - Friends and family of Corey Williams raised their candles, sang "Lean on Me" and laughed and cried together in his memory Thursday night during a candlelight vigil at Turley Park.

Williams, 18, was killed when he was struck by lightning at a Carbondale Community High School track meet against Carterville about 4 p.m. Thursday at Frank Bleyer Field at the Carbondale Superblock. High school classes are cancelled today, though the high school is open for students to gather and to meet with counselors.



Witnesses said the track meet - the first of the year - was about to be called off due to rain and thunder. Almost immediately after the event was called, there was a loud clap of thunder and what some described as the only lightning bolt in the sky.

Jackson County Coroner Dr. Thomas Kupferer said immediate attempts were made to revive Williams but were unsuccessful. He was taken to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale and was pronounced dead at 4:42 p.m.

"It sounded like a sonic boom," Nick Evans, basketball and track standout for CCHS, said about the lightning. He was about 150 yards away when Williams was hit. He is on the 1,600-meter relay team with Williams and was working on his baton handoffs when it happened. He said he ran over to his teammate as soon as he realized something was wrong, but it was already too late.

"The kid always had a smile on his face," he said. "I remember the first time I met him, I was in jeans, and he wanted to race. He was just always happy."

John Clark was on the same relay team as Williams, who was considered one of the best 110-meter hurdlers in the area last year.

Clark said it sounds cliché, but Williams was friends in some form with almost everyone.

"He was a lot of fun to be around and he was really excited to be part of the track team," he said. "He was very close to his mother. They had a great relationship, and he talked about her a lot."

The two were part of a gathering of more than 200 students, faculty, parents and community members from both Carbondale and Carterville. Carterville Lifesavers Adviser Marianalla Eaton said Carterville students wanted to come to Carbondale to show their support for a fellow student.

"We are here tonight and we'll be at the schools tomorrow to just hug them and support them and be there to listen," she said. "Sometimes the kids just help each other. Coming together like this gives them that touch they need right now."

For most of the gathering, friends and family mingled and talked, remembering Corey's eyes, his smile and his jokes. An a cappella solo of "Amazing Grace" brought the group back together as it began to dissipate, and brought many to tears.

Williams' mother, Vanessa Webb, shared hugs with dozens of the students. "This was my son. Why did this happen," she said.

One of Corey's family members stepped up to say the family appreciated the support.

"It's OK to cry," she said. "But Corey isn't crying. He's in heaven. God had a purpose for Corey. He left an impact. Corey died doing something he loved, and maybe that's the way God wanted to take him. Joy will come in the morning. Now let's sing some happy songs."

And they did, leaning on each other as the song suggested.



http://www.southernillinoisan.com/artic ... 781125.txt

Williams remembered for 'infectious smile'

by scott mees, the southern


CARBONDALE - Coaches recall Corey Williams as a pleasure to work with off and on the field. Carbondale Community High School wrestling coach Dennis Ragan worked with Williams in freshman football as well as wrestling.

"He was a super young man, and I can't imagine anybody not liking Corey," Ragan said. "He had an infectious smile. He always was bubbly with a lot of energy. He was just a pleasant young man."



The junior student-athlete died Thursday after he was struck by lightning during a track meet with Carterville while he was waiting to compete at the north end of Frank Bleyer Field.

Ragan said he wished Williams had continued to wrestle after his freshman year.

"It's really hard to imagine that this has happened," Ragan said. "There are very few people like him. He was a pleasure to coach and to be with in class. Everybody liked to be around Corey because he was always having fun."

Carbondale baseball coach Scott Hankey echoed Ragan's sentiments.

"This is probably one of the lowest points I've ever had," Hankey said. "My mind is with his family, anybody that's related to him and his friends. I just hope everything works out well for his family.

CCHS Principal Vicky King said Williams was pronounced dead upon arrival at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.

"You hope that you never have to go through something like this," King said.

Carbondale senior Nick Evans said Williams had forgotten his uniform and had a teammate take him home to get it just 20 minutes before the incident occurred.

Carterville track coach Scott Hendricks was one of several people who tried to revive Williams by using CPR. Hendricks didn't see the lightning hit but said a couple of students told him someone had been struck by lightning.

"I took off running and ran over there," Hendricks said. "You're just trying to do what you can to help him out. It seemed to me that he exhaled a couple of times on his own."

Carbondale physical education teacher Marla Boyer was standing next to Williams and was affected by the strike as well.

"I think it just jolted her," King said of Boyer. "I think she's going to be OK."

[pvdad81]

This is very upsetting. My son would be a pole vaulter on the Carbondale team if we would not have moved from there a few years back.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=5174741

Services set for Carbondale teen killed by lightning

April 2, 2007 (CARBONDALE, Ill.) - Services are scheduled Friday for a popular 18-year-old Carbondale Community High School student and athlete killed last week by a lightning strike during a track meet.

Corey Williams died on arrival at a hospital after the gifted runner and hurdler was hit by lightning that witnesses say came out of nowhere at the school, where a track meet was about to begin.

Williams' mother describes her son as an intelligent teen and a computer lover who could speak Japanese and Spanish.

Visitation for Williams will be from ten until noon Friday in the high school's gymnasium, followed by funeral services there.

Contributions meant to defray funeral expenses may be made to the Corey Williams Memorial Fund through any Old National Bank.