Posted at 7:19 a.m., Friday, March 30, 2007
Illinois high school runner killed by lightning
Associated Press
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) _ 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.
