DEADLY TOLL Local lightning strikes

Deaths and injuries from lightning strikes in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys and beyond:
September 1948: Lightning kills William W. Davis of New Castle and a fellow golfer.
July 1951: Lightning kills a Warren man and injures two brothers under a tree.
June 1952: Bolt kills two in storm at Petersburg, zips along line to pavilion where picnickers were sheltering.
September 1952: 10-year-old boy killed by lightning, his body found under a tree near McDonald High School.
June 1954: A North Braddock, Pa., man and his boy companion are knocked unconscious by lightning at the Pine Lake boathouse south of North Lima.
July 1955: An electrical lineman is killed as lightning hits three people in a Youngstown storm.
August 1955: Lightning bolt kills an Erie Railroad trainman in a heavy rain and blinds four others temporarily.
April 1960: Benjamin Richardson, 34-year-old Girard father of seven, is killed by lightning.
April 1963: David Sprouse of Beloit goes into shock after being struck by lightning while making a telephone call.
August 1963: Lightning strikes in New Castle, inflicting first- and third-degree burns on the nose, ears, head, hands and arms of Eugene Kenehan, and first and second degree burns on the hand of his brother, Joseph.
June 1965: Lightning kills four Pennsylvania golfers at Armco Country Club near Butler.
August 1965: Lightning hits trio on Eastwood Golf Course near Warren, knocking the youths unconscious.
July 1966: Lightning kills John Groff Sr., John Groff Jr. and Samuel Tallo at a July 4 picnic in Brookfield.
March 1968: Lightning hits a tree, inflicting critical burns on Ralph Nunez of Struthers.
July 1968: A lightning bolt stuns Josephine Emrich and her two daughters as it strikes near a tree at Farmer Jim's recreation center.
July 1969: Lee Malowitz, 15, of Youngstown, and Jerome B. Rosenberg, 59, of Mansfield, are killed when struck by lightning when they are caught in a sudden storm at the Squaw Creek Country Club golf course. Three others escape injury.
June 1970: Shirley Soda is treated at a hospital after being struck by lightning while on the telephone.
September 1970: Stephen Stefanoff, 49, of Erie Street, is killed by lightning near Unity; Rogelio Garcia, 13, is killed by lightning later in the month on Washingtonville Road.
September 1975: Mary A. Smith of Kenmore Avenue is seriously hurt and at least seven others are injured as a lightning bolt strikes the stands at South High School stadium, and Patrolman Francis Gallagher suffers a mild heart attack.
July 1976: Gregg Rudowsky, 15, of Poland, is hospitalized in guarded condition with severe burns after being struck by lightning while trying to dock a boat at Berlin Reservoir.
May 1977: Lightning strikes a tree and John Sutton, 69, of Superior Street, killing him as he sits in an aluminum chair while fishing in Mill Creek Park's Lake Newport.
August 1977: Carl D. Armstrong, 16, of Santaquin, Utah, is in extremely critical condition in Jameson Memorial Hospital in New Castle after being struck by lightning on the National Scout Jamboree campgrounds at Moraine State Park.
June 1978: Gary F. Indermill and William R. Hall, both 30, both of Somer Street, are killed by lightning while preparing dinner for their families during a picnic at the Leetonia Sportsmen's Club.
August 1980: A Mesopotamia boy is killed by lightning as tornadoes are sighted in the Youngstown area and electrical storms rumble through the Mahoning and Shenango valleys.
July 1983: Two fishermen from the Akron area are treated and held at a hospital for observation after being injured when lightning hits a tree under which they crouched for shelter during a thunderstorm at Berlin Reservoir.
May 1986: Lillian Collins, 59, of Grand Street, is critically injured after being struck by lightning while standing in her yard.
September 1986: Bill Robinson blacks out after an antenna on the Liberty school bus he is driving is struck by lightning while he's alone on the bus, but manages to pull the bus off to the side of the road.
June 1988: Pamela Rodondi of Sharon is in guarded condition, and her husband, Raymond G., is treated and released after they are hit by lightning after standing by several trees in Riverview Park in Sharpsville.
July 1989: Lightning injures three people, two of whom are hospitalized, at Butler County's annual July 4 celebration.
May 1992: Two sisters are hospitalized after being struck by lightning on the shore of Pymatuning Reservoir.
July 1992: David P. Ferro, formerly of Sharpsville, dies after being hit by lightning in the Philadelphia area.
June 1995: Jennifer Lynn Boley, 14, dies a week after being critically injured in a lightning strike near a pavilion in Brookfield Community Park. Three others suffered minor injuries.
July 1995: A lightning strike in McDonald kills Edward Fellows, 36, of Warren, and critically injures his brother, Stephen, 28, of McDonald, who was married several days before.
June 1996: Lightning strikes a tree at Diamond Back Golf Course in Ellsworth, injuring four golfers who sought shelter there from a storm. One of them, Kevin Haggerty, 32, of Niles, was critically injured and died about two weeks later.