1 Hiker Killed, 1 Injured When Struck By Lightning In Boulder County
BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- Two hikers were struck by lightning on Bear Peak in Boulder County. A Denver man, 36, was killed and his wife, 37, were injured when they were struck by lightning just before 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Rescuers reached the parties by 2:45 p.m. and requested air evacuation for the patients.
One passerby had started CPR on the man who was not breathing.
Rescue crews found the couple about a quarter mile up the Bear Peak Trail from the trailhead for Bear Peak located in the 2700 block of Bison Road.
The first rescuers to arrive, a ranger from the City of Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks and a ranger from Boulder County Parks & Open Space, took over CPR and used an automated external defibrillator (AED) on the unconscious victim. Rescuers were able to get the man's pulse re-established and airlifted him to the hospital where he later died.
Medical personnel believe the man was struck by a direct lightning strike on his upper body. The man's wife is not believed to have been directly hit but suffered injuries from the electrical current from the strike that hit her husband.
The man's identity has not been released.