Lightning strikes 3 children at Round Lake Heights bus stop

Three kids were struck by lightning Thursday morning while waiting for a school bus in north suburban Round Lake Heights.

Authorities were called about 7:20 a.m. for initial reports of four children injured by a lightning strike at a bus stop near Lotus and Ottawa drives, according to the Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District. They arrived to find three middle school-aged children on the ground.

Authorities learned that multiple students were at the stop when the lightning struck. Three of them were injured while the rest ran away and took shelter in nearby homes.

All three injured children were taken to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, fire officials said. One of them was in serious condition while the two others were stabilized.

As of about 10:30 a.m., all three students were “alert, communicative and in stable condition,” according to a statement from Lake Villa Community Consolidated School District 41. The rest of the students who were at the bus stop were taken to school.

The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook for the Chicago area early Thursday, warning of an elevated risk of scattered thunderstorms for northeast Illinois, especially north of I-88.