Eight injured, three critically, in lightning strike near Grafton prison (UPDATED)

GRAFTON — At least eight inmates were injured by a lightning strike at Grafton Reintegration Center on Avon Belden Road on Tuesday, prompting ambulances from three counties to respond to the prison. JoEllen Smith, chief of communications for the Ohio Department of Corrections, said in a news release that authorities were attached to GRC at 5:23 p.m., after eight inmates were injured by a lightning strike as they were returning from their evening meal, according to early reports. "At this time, eight individuals are being transported to an outside hospital for treatment," Smith said. "We are continuing to assess and monitor the situation." At least three of the patients were critically injured. Smith said that one of the patients had been flown by helicopter to an outside hospital and that no deaths had been reported as of 7:30 p.m. "The call that we originally got was five patients apparently struck by lightning, that was how it came in to us," said LifeCare Ambulance COO Kim Mason. "That came in at about 5:30 p.m. What I can say is since then we have transported multiple (patients) from the facility, and a few of them were critical. I don't have anything else on their condition at this time." First responders were called from Lorain, Medina and Cuyahoga counties, and both University Hospitals in Elyria and Westlake, as well as Southwest General in Strongsville, were told to expect patients. As of 7:20 p.m. there were still six ambulances waiting within the prison fence and outside. Responding agencies included LifeCare, Grafton, Valley City, Olmsted Falls, Litchfield, North Ridgeville, Eaton Township, State Highway Patrol and the Lorain County Sheriff's Office. National Weather Service meteorologist Karen Clark said that the Weather Service detected several ground lightning strikes in the Grafton area between 5:15 and 5:20 p.m. as a storm rolled over the area from over Lake Erie. Clark said that while there is always a danger of being struck by lightning when outside during a storm, a strike injuring multiple people at once is rare. "Our slogan at the National Weather Service is 'when thunder roars, go indoors,' if you are close enough to hear the thunder then you are close enough to be struck," she said. "We encourage people to go inside and stay inside for 20 to 30 minutes after the last lightning strike. I would say that it is rare but not unheard of for multiple people to be struck in a situation like that." Contact Connor Ball at cball@chroniclet.com or (440) 329-7243 or Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.