Georgia
teen killed by lightning while riding bike
August
26, 2007
Alpharetta,
Georgia -A
15-year-old boy riding his bicycle was killed in Alpharetta on Sunday
afternoon after he was apparently struck by lightning.
Officers were called to a residential complex on Governor's Circle about
3 p.m. after a woman told dispatchers she saw a man getting hit by lightning.
Kevin Avalar was lying unconscious in a parking lot, with his bicycle
next to him, Officer George Gordon said.
The boy was taken to North Fulton Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced
dead.
Strong thunderstorms were passing through the area around the time that
Avalar was struck.
An average of 62 people are killed each year by lightning in the United
States, with summer being the peak period, the National Weather Service
said.
Georgia ranks fourth in the nation in lightning deaths.
Click here for lightning safety facts from the National Weather Service
