© Central Arkansas Christian School via FacebookMegan Nickell, a 7th grader at Central Arkansas Christian School, reportedly died after she was struck by lightning at Fort Morgan in Alabama, on Sunday, July 5, 2015.
Mike Burke, director of marketing and public relations for the hospital, identified the girl as Megan Nickell.
On social media, school officials said Megan was a 7th grader at Central Arkansas Christian School in North Little Rock. On Monday night, the school held a prayer service for Megan and her family.
On Sunday afternoon, Megan was playing volleyball on the beach at the west end of Fort Morgan Road when a lightning bolt struck her, Fort Morgan Volunteer Fire Department Chief Glenn Stevens told AL.com.
She was transported to South Baldwin Regional Medical Center in Foley and later to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
Other people were playing volleyball on the beach with Megan when she was struck, Stevens said. Some of them had a hard time hearing because of how close they were to the lightning strike but all refused medical treatment, he said.
According to preliminary lightning fatality data collected by John Jensenius, a lightning safety specialist with the National Weather Service, Megan's death marked at least the 17th lightning fatality of the year and the third in Alabama.
In June, a lightning strike claimed the lives of Miguel Belnar and Sharon G. Fletcher as they tried to cover chickens during a storm in Opp.
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