15-year-old girl still recovering in hospital after lightning strike

By Chelsea Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The 15-year-old girl injured in a lightning storm that killed her 14-year-old neighbor was still in the hospital Thursday afternoon, a hospital employee said.

Ceyora Taylor, who was taken to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston after she was struck by lightning, was in good condition and expected to be OK.

Eric Terrell West, who was with Taylor during the storm, was killed by the strike.

West and Taylor were standing outside a house in the 3000 block of Regal Drive in the Huntington Ridge subdivision off Ga. 42 in McDonough when they were knocked to the ground by lightning Tuesday night, according to the McDonough police incident report.

West and Taylor's families live two houses apart in the subdivision.

"[West] was actually walking her home in the rain," said Reginald Marine, Taylor's adoptive father. "They ran under a tree and used it like an umbrella. He was holding onto the tree, so the roots carried the electric current to the ground."

At 8:47 p.m., the Henry County Fire Department responded to the call and transported both teens to Henry County Medical Center.

According to the incident report, Taylor regained consciousness at the scene. She was later transferred to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.

"She's a trooper, she's a fighter," Marine said. "She doesn't really remember what happened, but she remembers me being there with her, holding her and moving her body."

Marine said Taylor instantly lost muscle control, and her body became like a "limp noodle."

"When she first arrived, they were mostly concerned with muscle atrophy, neurological damage and organ damage," Marine said.

He was happy to report that Taylor primarily is suffering from "a few burn spots" on her body and was kept at Egleston to monitor her hydration.

Marine said his daughter is eager -- not anxious -- to start her freshman year of high school in the fall. She wants to pursue writing.

"She's shown an interest in journalism and she loves to read," he said. "She's also taken martial arts since she was little."

He said they waited to tell her the fate of her friend, who neighbors had fondly nicknamed "Terrell" or "Tyrone," and she is still grieving.

West was in cardiac arrest when emergency crews arrived and was pronounced dead at Henry County Medical Center.

"He was a loving kid, very mindful," said Brandin West, father of the young man. "You only had to ask him to do something once and he'd do it."

West is also survived by a younger brother and sister and his mother. Brandin West said his wife is taking Eric's death better than he expected.

"But at night, she closes her eyes and says she sees him," Brandin West said.

Savion Lampley, 11, from Waynesboro, Miss., was a teammate of West's. West was a point guard on their neighborhood basketball team. West also played football.

"He was sweet, and he could run real fast," Lampley said. West attended Waynesboro Middle School in Mississippi for the 2009-10 school year, but Lampley said West recently moved to Georgia and transferred schools.

Brandin said his family moved to McDonough only three weeks ago. West was about to enter the eighth grade and wanted to to try out for the local basketball, football and track teams.

Brandin said the family was planning funeral services in Waynesboro, Miss., on July 6.

Two weeks ago, on June 19, a teen was struck by lightning in Acworth. The victim in that incident survived after a friend quickly summoned help by flagging down an Acworth police officer near the intersection of Lake Acworth Drive and West Lakeshore Drive.

For 2007, the latest data the Georgia Department of Community Health could provide, there were three lightning-related deaths in Georgia. Since 1994, the most lightning-related deaths was five in 1999.

There were 50 emergency room visits and nine hospitalizations for 2007.

Nate Mayes, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service said there is a lot of cautionary information people should know about lightning.

"Most people are struck by lightning before the storm hits," Mayes said. "The lightning can be at the front of the storm and it doesn't seem dangerous yet."

Mayes also listed  precautionary measures such as staying indoors or inside vehicles during a thunderstorm and avoiding open fields and bodies of water. He also warned that lightning can travel through metal pipes and phone lines, so it is best to not take showers or baths during a thunderstorm, or to talk on a land line phone.

"The best thing you can do is listen," Mayes said. "Lightning causes thunder. When you see lightning, start counting. Every five seconds that pass until you hear thunder is a mile in [distance]."

--Staff writers Alexis Stevens and Larry Hartstein contributed to this report.