Woman who survived lightning strike shares story

According to the National Weather Service, the Pikes Peak Region is the lightning capital of the state. Lightning strikes are not uncommon in the region, but being struck by lightning is.

On Wednesday afternoon, a dozen Fort Carson soldiers were injured by a lightning strike on post. One soldier was critically injured.

One Colorado Springs woman can relate. She was struck by lightning two years ago at Aztec Family Raceway in Colorado Springs.

“A lightning bolt hit the pole that I was leaning up against,” Stephanie Alberti told KRDO NewsChannel 13. “The aftershock came up into the pole and struck me.”

Alberti was with her 2-year-old daughter and was also pregnant at the time.

“The minute I was struck, it was very surreal. I didn’t really realize what had happened. It was warm and quick. It almost felt like a silence,” Alberti said.

Alberti suffered some bruises and burns and her hair was singed. But besides that, she and her baby were fine.

“She doesn’t have super powers,” Alberti joked of her daughter, now a toddler. “But she does have the ability to drive mommy crazy sometimes.”

Alberti says she now takes storms more seriously and hopes that others will, too.

“Listen to your instincts. If you’re outside and it’s raining or storming, be smart about it. Go inside. You never know what can happen.”