Lightning tore through the yard at Grafton Correctional Institution in Lorain County at 5:20 p.m. on Aug. 11, striking as a group of incarcerated men walked back from the dining area to their housing units. Newly released video from that evening shows the aftermath. Staff found several seriously injured men after inmates called for help.
What the Video and Timeline Show
According to Cleveland 19, several inmates were seriously injured, and correctional staff immediately began life-saving actions, including CPR. Staff requested ambulances, and emergency transports to area hospitals began during the evening.
Cleveland.com, citing the account of the response, reported that three men were initially unresponsive, with two losing a pulse and requiring CPR from staff before all three regained consciousness ahead of transport to the hospital. The outlet's reporting on the response timeline adds further detail to the sequence of events that unfolded on the yard that evening.
Conflicting Figures on How Many Were Hurt
Exactly how many people were struck or injured depends on which account is cited. The headline on Cleveland 19's video describes 16 inmates as struck by lightning, while a later account attributed to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, reported by cleveland.com, says 19 incarcerated men were injured in total — 16 of whom were taken to hospitals, with three declining treatment. The two outlets' figures should not be treated as interchangeable, since they describe different counts: those directly struck versus those ultimately injured or hospitalized.
The recovery stretched on for weeks for some of the men involved. Per the same account from Cleveland 19, fifteen of the 16 hospitalized inmates were released back to the prison that same week, but the most seriously injured man remained hospitalized for more than a month, not returning to Grafton until Sept. 15.
Forecast Gave No Severe Warning Before the Strike
Weather conditions leading up to the strike have drawn scrutiny. A National Weather Service forecast issued at 4:48 p.m. — just 32 minutes before lightning hit the yard — gave Lorain County a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms that evening, according to cleveland.com. No severe thunderstorm warning covered Grafton at the moment the lightning struck, the outlet reported, though it noted the absence of such a warning did not mean there was no lightning risk present.
Accounts also diverge on whether the yard had even reopened at the time of the strike. The same cleveland.com report states that one officer's report says the yard was cleared to reopen at 5:18 p.m., two minutes before lightning hit, while another officer reported that the yard was still closed when the strike occurred at 5:20 p.m. The National Weather Service recommends waiting at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before resuming outdoor activity, the outlet noted.
State Points to Areas for Improvement
Per the Cleveland 19 report, the state has identified several areas for improvement, including training in severe weather preparedness and handling multiple injured patients at once.
