The woman struck by lightning in Superior Thursday evening is in critical condition, and officials are asking for help to identify her.
About 5:39 p.m., the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 1000 block of Lasalle Street on a report that a woman was hit by lightning while walking on a path, according to a sheriff’s office release. She regained the ability to breathe on her own, but officials have not been able to identify her yet, the release states.
When first responders arrived, the woman had no pulse and was unconscious, and bystanders were administering CPR, the release states. She regained a faint pulse and began breathing on her own after first responders took over, before being taken to a Boulder County hospital for treatment, according to the release.
She was later airlifted to a hospital in the Denver metro area, the release states. The woman was breathing independently and had a regular heartbeat as of 9:11 a.m. Friday morning, the release states.
Officials believe the woman is between 20 and 30 years old. She is 5-foot-5-inches tall, white and 120 pounds, according to the release. She has red or auburn-colored hair and was wearing a green running shirt and black-and-white striped running shorts.
The woman also has three butterflies tattooed on her right upper arm, was wearing a dark windbreaker and she was wearing white and pink running shoes, according to a later update by the sheriff’s office.
The woman wasn’t carrying any ID, her cell phone was severely damaged and officials could not identify her by checking her fingerprints or reviewing missing persons reports, the release states.
The sheriff’s office did not post a photo of the woman because “she sustained significant trauma from the lightning strike and she does not look like herself right now,” the later update states.
By late Friday morning, a bouquet of yellow, pink, white and purple flowers sat at the foot of the tree where the woman was struck.
Officials ask that anyone who might know the woman call the sheriff’s office at 303-441-4444, the release states.
Based on data since 1980, lightning causes two fatalities and 12 injuries per year in Colorado, according to the National Weather Service.
In July 2019, a 36-year-old man died after he was struck by lightning while in the Flagstaff Mountain area in Boulder County.
