A 28yearold woman has been named by US authorities as the sole survivor of the storm that struck the White House lawn on Thursday. Amber EscuderoKontostathis was taken to hospital in critical condition and was breathing on machines, but yesterday she showed signs of improvement and was able to rehearse her first steps after the accident. She is still in pain and burns, and is struggling with shortterm memory loss from the incident.
She survived a lightning strike that killed City National Bank vice president Brooks Lambertson, 29, and James and Donna Mueller, 76 and 75, who were visiting the capital to celebrate their 56th wedding anniversary.
The group was caught off guard by a summer storm and hid under a tree, which was later struck by lightning.
The accident was recorded by surveillance cameras in the White House.
“Amber managed to take a few steps last night; it was painful but her will is strong,” Amber’s mother, Julie Escudero, wrote in a post posted to Facebook yesterday.
“Please pray that the pain is bearable. She is in great pain. The nurses were taking her to the shower just as we were on the phone. They told her it would be painful,” Julie said.
“We also need prayers so that we are strong and calm and say the right words to relax them. Your shortterm memory improves step by step.”
The family added that Amber is very scared of what happened. She keeps asking what happened to her and says she feels guilty for surviving. Online crowdfunding has been set up on GoFundMe on her behalf to help pay for medical expenses, which has already raised more than BRL185,000.
Trees offer no protection
Officials from the US Secret Service and Parks Police saw the accident and took immediate care of the victims, said Vito Maggiolo, a spokesman for the White House Fire Department. “They performed CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on the wounded before they were taken to a nearby hospital.”
Maggiolo said it was likely the four people affected by the incident were trying to take shelter under a tree in the garden of the presidential residence when the storm broke just before 7pm.
“Trees are not safe places,” Maggiolo said. “Anyone sheltering under a tree is a very dangerous place.”
Chris Vagasky, an analyst with a national lightning monitoring network, told the Washington Post that a total of six lightning strikes were recorded, striking the same spot near the White House at 6:49 p.m., half a second apart.
“She is now healing from the burns, which is very painful. She has to clean and rub all the scabs everyday,” Amber’s mom wrote on her Facebook profile today. “Please pray that her kidney is okay. She has pain in that area.”