An 8-year-old girl, Kinslee Tschida, died after being struck by lightning in her backyard in rural Illinois on Friday, July 3. Her nurse mother attempted CPR, but the child was pronounced dead at OSF St. Elizabeth Hospital in Ottawa. Kinslee was playing on a swing with her cousins when her uncle called for them to come inside due to thunder. According to Chris Scheib, who helped raise the girl, the lightning strike occurred in an instant, just feet from the house and other family members who were unharmed.
"In 5 or 10 seconds, she would have been fine," Scheib told WLS. He described the event as "unfathomable" and "unrealistic." Kinslee was preparing to enter the third grade at Rutland Grade School this fall. Her family remembers her as someone who loved to sing, dance, and bring joy to others.
An autopsy was conducted by the La Salle County Coroner’s Office on Sunday, with the official cause of death expected in four to five weeks. A GoFundMe campaign has been established to assist Kinslee's family with burial and medical expenses.
According to the National Lightning Safety Council, Kinslee's death marks the fourth lightning fatality in the U.S. this year.