Dorchester woman in critical condition after lightning strike

Weather

The 31-year-old Dorchester woman was walking her dog when lightning struck the boardwalk at Savin Hill Beach.

A woman is in critical condition after she was struck by lightning on a beach in Dorchester Saturday afternoon, according to state police.

The 31-year-old Dorchester woman was walking her dog along the boardwalk at Savin Hill Beach when she stopped to talk to another woman, police said a press release. As they were talking, a bolt of lightning struck the area they were standing in, knocking them both into the air.

The victim landed on the beach and became unresponsive, police said. The other woman was thrown by the explosion, but was not struck by the lightning itself.

People nearby called 911 and provided medical assistance, police said. One of those people was Tracy Cronin, a nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital who lives near the beach. The Boston Globe reported.

Cronin told the newspaper she looked out the window after hearing loud thunder and saw the woman lying on the beach. The woman’s pants were ripped apart by the lightning strike, she said.

Onlookers took the woman to a neighbor’s house to rescue her from the storm, Cronin said globe. Then Cronin and her boyfriend, who is also a nurse, took turns performing CPR until paramedics arrived and used a defibrillator, the newspaper reported.

“They got a pulse back, but she wasn’t awake,” Cronin said. “I just pray she’s okay.”

Paramedics and state police responded to the scene at 3:35 p.m. and took the woman to Boston Medical Center, police said. She was in critical condition on Saturday evening. The other woman told first responders that she would seek medical attention herself.

The lightning strike splintered a nearby tree, leaving a line running down the trunk.

Bruce, the victim’s dog, ran away after the lightning strike and was initially reported missing. But State police confirmed this on Sunday morning that he was found.

Lightning was also a threat to college football players and fans Saturday afternoon. With just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter, lightning struck near Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill as Boston College took on College of the Holy Cross.

The strike caused fans to seek shelter, but players remained on the field, resulting in Boston College’s victory.

Also the storm on Saturday Power failure for tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents.