Three Injured in Texas Lightning Strike

Two construction workers and a food truck employee were injured Monday by a lightning strike near Bee Cave, officials said.

Steve Wilkins, the project manager for the Cielo Apartment Homes complex on RM 620 near Falcon Head Boulevard, said that the injured people were in or near the food truck about 3 p.m. and that the truck was parked at the bottom of a hill.

Wilkins said he did not see the incident but went to the scene shortly afterward and said the victims look "stunned." All three were conscious, he said, with two standing and one on the ground.

All three were taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge -- two in critical condition -- after the incident, according to Austin-Travis County EMS.

As of Monday night, all three were in stable condition, said EMS spokesman Warren Hassinger.

EMS described the injuries on Twitter as "burns to feet and singed hair."

Wilkins said the storm was brief -- about five minutes -- but was very intense with lightning.

The storm was among the earliest severe weather the area saw before additional brief, heavy storms moved across Central Texas through Monday night, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Baskin.

Later in the afternoon, construction continued on the complex, which is slated for completion in January 2014.

Wilkins said he could still feel the residual electricity from the lightning at the site of the incident Monday afternoon.

He said that all workers go through safety training, including for lightning storms, and that all of the workers left elevated areas and took cover.

The lightning strike was a freak accident, Wilkins said.

"I care about all my men," he said. "We work on safety constantly."

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