During Sunday's thunderstorm, 36-year-old Laura Miller was struck and killed by lightning while horseback riding in Sedalia, Colorado.
Laura Miller was riding alongside a 15-year-old female relative when the lightning bolt struck, killing Miller and her horse. The 15-year-old girl was also struck, but first responders found her conscious and breathing. Laura Miller and her horse were both pronounced dead at the scene by firefighters. The young girl was transferred to an area hospital and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office has yet to provide an update on her condition.
The two women were riding along a local community bridle trail when the storm hit. Nearby residents reported that the lightning strike was visible. First responders noticed that the bolt hit approximately 10 feet away from Miller and her horse fell.
There were 38 lightning strike fatalities recorded in the United States last year. Saturday's tragedy may be the first recorded fatality of 2017. This marks the second person in two days to be struck by lightning in Douglas County. On Saturday, a woman survived after lightning struck a tree she was standing next to.
The National Weather Service estimates that the odds of being struck by lightning at some point in your lie is one in 13,000 and approximately 10 percent of lightning strikes prove fatal.