Ambulance Response Delayed in Fatal Georgia Lightning Strike

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — It took more than twice as long as normal for an ambulance to reach an Alabama girl who died after being struck by lightning on a coastal Georgia island in June. Records show police received the call at 2:37 p.m. on June 12 that 15-year-old Maiah Mitchell had been hit on Tybee Island near Savannah. But the ambulance didn’t leave for a hospital with Mitchell until 3:18 p.m. The biggest cause of delay was that the ambulance normally assigned to the island had picked up another patient. Another ambulance was rotating into position but had not yet arrived. Confusion over whether Mitchell would be transported by helicopter caused more delay.

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