UPDATED 1 p.m. — A woman was struck by lightning this morning about 11:20 as a heavy thunderstorm rolled across town.
The woman, described as a nanny, was preparing to remove a baby from a car at 20 High Pastures Court when the umbrella she was holding was hit by lightning, Fire Chief Heather Burford reported.
“She indicated she saw sparks and felt a pain on her right side,” Chief Burford said. “Her chief complaint was right shoulder pain. She stated she never lost consciousness and was able to place the call to 911.”
The baby was unharmed. Another child, aged 3, had already been brought to the house.
The woman was taken to Danbury Hospital. Her injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening.
A friend stayed with the children until their mother arrived home.
The storm has knocked down some power lines and caused flooding that closed Ligi’s Way.
Nearly 500 CL&P customers were without power at noon, but but 1 o’clock, only 159 were offline.
The storm came with tornado warnings, but no winds of any consequence were observed in the center of town.
Rains were extremely heavy, and a car was abandoned in the flooding on Ligi’s Way, near the town transfer station, after it became caught in the water. It was towed away.
A wire down across Barry Avenue near Oak Knoll and Westmoreland was burning.
Emergency personnel closed the road and set up detours.
CL&P was notified and arrived on the scene at about 12:10. The road was reopened by 1.
The storm triggered many alarms at houses around town.