Amanda Conroy and her dog, Pippa, were in the middle of a conversation with a young woman at Savin Hill Beach in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood when she was struck by lightning on Saturday afternoon.
“I said, 'Oh my gosh, what a beautiful dog. Is that a border collie?'" Conroy recalled Monday. “And she says, 'No, it's an Australian shepherd.' And right after she said that, I felt like it was a nuclear bomb. It was the most intense energy, sound, smell.”
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Massachusetts State Police said troopers responded to a report of a woman struck by lightning shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The 31-year-old Dorchester woman was rushed to Boston Medical Center, where state police said Monday she remains in critical condition.
“Have I run this through my head a million times? Absolutely," Conroy said. "Like why was it her? Why not me? How? How was I spared? And I hope to God that she pulls through.”
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Neighbors immediately jumped into action, according to Conroy, including an ICU nurse and an emergency room doctor who administered CPR until paramedics arrived on scene. Amanda has whiplash from getting knocked to the ground but was otherwise untouched by the lightning bolt.
“Everybody's concern was this young girl who had just been struck by lightning," Conroy said. “Within minutes -- less than two minutes, three minutes -- she was receiving care. So those people deserve applause for their reaction.”
The woman's dog, an Australian shepherd named Bruce, got scared and took off. He ran right past Elizabeth Gerard, who was hanging out with her friends from a sports league down the beach. The group chased after him.
“Even though probably about six or seven of us were running barefoot across Morrissey Boulevard in the pouring rain to try to get this dog, we were unable to."
Massachusetts State Police confirmed Monday that Bruce was found in the area Sunday morning.
