One dead, another injured in freak Friday lightning strike incident

A FREAK lightning strike has taken the life of Croydon real estate worker Lauren Brownlee and left her partner Ben Hollow in hospital.

A YOUNG woman killed by a freak lightning strike that also injured her boyfriend has been remembered for her gentle and giving nature.

Lauren Brownlee was watching Friday night’s dramatic thunderstorms with partner Ben Hollow from a lookout in Melbourne’s northeast when she was hit.

The pair worked together at a Croydon real estate agency, where she was an office manager and he a sales agent.

Mr Hollow underwent surgery on his legs yesterday and last night remained in a serious but stable condition at The Alfred hospital.

Friends and colleagues yesterday paid tribute to Ms Brownlee, originally from Wagga Wagga in NSW.

“Lauren’s ‘work family’ at Stockdale & Leggo Croydon are devastated. ‘Loz’ was loved by everyone for her gentle kind and giving nature,” the staff said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to her family and her partner, Ben.”

Ms Brownlee and Mr Hollow, both in their early 20s, had stopped at Sunset Drive in Chirnside Park to watch the lightning.

Benjamin Hollow with Lauren Brownlee.

They were standing near a tree next to their parked silver Holden Commodore when the freak accident unfolded.

Brandon Cleine was the first on the scene.

“There’s a lady lying on the ground pale as a ghost, burn marks all around her throat and the other guy was paralysed from the legs down, he couldn’t move,” he told Neil Mitchell.

“He wasn’t talking properly, he was in a lot of shock.”

Mr Cleine said a woman ran up, on the phone to 000, before he guided her through giving CPR to Ms Brownlee.

Mr Cleine said he took over doing CPR while the paramedics set up the defibrillator.

“They shocked her and nothing happened, so I jumped back into CPR,” he said.

He said they tried again before she had a seizure in the back of the ambulance

Mr Cleine said first aid should be taught first aid in schools.

“Most people don’t even know how to apply a bandaid properly let alone a bandage if they are bleeding out or CPR if someone’s been struck by lightning or hit by a car. If you want to get your first aid it is nearly $1000,” he said.

He said he’d have been in a bad situation many times if his mum hadn’t taught him first aid.

Ms Brownlee was taken to Maroondah Hospital where it is understood she suffered a series of heart attacks. A pair of thongs believed to be hers was taken from the scene by police earlier on Saturday.

Photographs of Ms Brownlee and Mr Hollow show a young, happy couple with a life ahead of them.

Ms Brownlee loved photog­raphy, music and art and also enjoyed playing video games and watching motocross.

She had worked in real estate for more than five years.

A colleague posted on social media that Ms Brownlee was “unreplaceable”. She had a “wonderful heart of gold” and was “another angel (who) has got her wings,” the colleague wrote.

LIGHTNING LIGHTS UP MELBOURNE SKYLINE

HOW LIKELY YOU ARE TO BE HIT BY LIGHTNING

TRADIE’S HEROIC ACT AFTER LIGHTNING FIRE

Lightning strikes over St Mark's Anglican Church in Camberwell on Friday evening. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Lightning over Melbourne on Friday evening. Picture: Cameron Tandy

Stockdale & Leggo Croydon branch customer Chrissie Miles said Ms Brownlee would be missed.

“I would go in there to pay rent every week and she was just lovely,” Ms Miles said. “The minute you walked in you could see that she was a very bubbly and happy person.”

A neighbour at the scene in Chirnside Park, Joanne, said that the situation was a tragedy. “We were looking out the window and we could see lightning. It was very loud,” she said.

“We often get a lot of cars and a lot of people look at the view and the sunset. It’s awful what happened.”

Neighbour Neil Allsop said the lightning strike was deafening. “It made a hell of a noise and one loud bang. It was extreme and it must have been the one that did it. I saw the bolt of lightning — it went straight to the ground.

“If you were in bed, you would have jumped 10 foot into the air.”

Another neighbour, Lucille Yon, said she heard about the incident on the news and knew it would be at the spot on top of the hill.

“I had a feeling, I knew it would be that spot,” she said.

Ms Yon said the storm was so bad it had damaged the electrics in her gate.

Lightning in Camberwell on Friday evening. Picture: Alessia Grigg

Lighting strikes in Ferntree Gully on Friday night. Picture: Shannon Beveridge.

Residents in the street said the hills were a popular spot for people to come and take photos during storms.

Locals say such event happens in the area about once a year but none could recall any deaths.

The road was cut off for more than an hour after the tragedy struck shortly after 8pm, residents said.

“Police, ambulance and fireys came roaring down the street,” another resident said.

Police spent almost an hour at the scene this morning taking photos of the car, a nearby tree and the thongs.

A 10 metre high tree appears to have been struck by lightning.

The family of lightning strike victim Lauren Brownlee have set up a fundraising page to help pay for her funeral. Please share. https://t.co/Z0QoUGtxRp @theheraldsun

— Stephen Drill (@steveheraldsun) November 26, 2017

They also measured the distance from the car to the thongs as part of their investigations.

A small white tube, which appeared to be used to deliver pain relief, was also near the car.

Police at the scene did not comment.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not keep records of how many Australians are struck by lightning but according to reports, about 10 Australians die with another 100 people injured annually due to strikes. The likelihood of being struck by lightning is put at one in 12,000.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

[e-mail]

@SophieSmith86