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A 29-year-old bank executive from Los Angeles was one of three people killed by a lightning strike right beside the White House last week.
Brooks Lambertson, a VP at City National Bank, was killed when the bolt struck a tree in Lafayette Park around 7pm, just across Pennsylvania Avenue from the fence surrounding the White House lawn.
Lambertson, who worked for his employer’s partnerships team, was in DC for business at the time of his death.
An elderly couple, James and Donna Mueller, 76 and 75, who were visiting the capital for their 56th wedding anniversary were also killed by the bolt.
They hid under a tree during a summer storm which was subsequently hit by a bolt of lightning, with that flash caught on camera.
A fourth person, a female, was also critically injured in the strike. Her condition remains unknown.
Brooks Lambertson, 29, and James and Donna Mueller, 76 and 75, were all killed by the lightening strike in DC on Thursday
The bolt of lightening dropping over DC on Thursday. It struck just across the street from the White House
A statement from City National Bank said Lambertson had managed sponsorships for the bank for the last three years. Previously he did marketing for the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team.
‘Brooks was an incredible young man who will be remembered for his generosity, kindness and unwavering positivity,’ the bank said, ‘His sudden loss is devastating for all who knew him, and his family, friends and colleagues appreciate the thoughts and prayers that have poured in from around the country.’
Lambertson went to high school in Folsom, in Northern California, and graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Four people were left critically injured following a lightning strike in Washington’s Lafayette Square near the White House on Thursday afternoon
Officers of the US Secret Service and U.S. Park Police, which have a regular presence in the square, went to the assistance of the victims immediately
The Muellers were high school sweethearts who had travelled to Washington from their home in Janesville, Wisconsin, to celebrate more than half a century together.
‘They were high school sweethearts,’ their niece, Michelle McNett told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, ‘They had a whole itinerary. They were supposed to be at Mount Vernon today.’
Jim owned and still worked at a drywall company, though was mostly retired. Donna was a retired school teacher.
‘Both would do anything for family or friends,’ McNett said, ‘Jim would give you the shirt off his back.’
Secret Service officers and US Park Police saw the strike and went to the assistance of the victims immediately, Vito Maggiolo, a DC Fire and EMS spokesperson said. They administered CPR on the injured before they were taken to a nearby hospital.
Maggiolo said it was likely that the four people caught in the incident tried to seek shelter under the nearby tree when the storm passed along just before 7pm.
The Fire and EMS spokesperson noted that trees are not the ideal shelter during thunderstorms.
‘Trees are not safe places,’ Maggiolo said. ‘Anybody that goes to seek shelter under a tree, that’s a very dangerous place to be.’
Chris Vagasky, an analyst for a national lightning network, told the Washington Post that there were a total of six ‘surges of electricity’ that struck the same point near the white house within half a second of each other at 6:49pm.
Footage blurred by the heavy rain shows the fatal bolt striking across the street from the White House, which can be seen in the background
Vito Maggiolo, a D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson said it was likely that the four people caught in the incident tried to seek shelter under the nearby tree when the storm passed along just before 7pm
Lafayette Square, a seven-acre public park that lies directly north of the White House, is often crowded with visitors, especially in the summer months
Lafayette Square, a seven-acre public park that lies directly north of the White House, is often crowded with visitors, especially in the summer months.
A violent thunderstorm swept through the capital late in the day.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area between 6:30 and 7:15 pm, cautioning of wind gusts up to 60 mph.
Temperatures in Washington exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday, although, with the high humidity, the heat felt like more than 100F, forecasters said.
The powerful storms proceeding the heat have caused flooding in Baltimore and led to widespread blackouts in Maryland, with Gov. Larry Hogan reporting that more than 50,000 power outages in the state as of Thursday evening.