This woman and her two dogs were killed tragically by a lightning strike

It started as an ordinary day for 52-year-old Antonia Mendoza Chavez, however, nobody could have imagined that it would be her last. Chavez and her two pets were struck dead by a fatal lightning strike that hit her amidst the season of monsoon in Southern California.

A fatal lightning strike

What started as a normal day soon turned into tragedy for this woman. As per ABC, the now-identified woman named Antonia Mendoza Chavez left her house on a morning walk with her two dogs. During the walk, she was hit by a lightning strike that left her and her dogs dead.

The authorities of the city, Pico Rivera, investigated the incident and confirmed the happenings to CBS News. The event was reported at 8:50 am near the area of San Gabriel River in Pico Rivera. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Jonathan Branham said:

It was a female Hispanic adult who had been struck by lightning and did not survive her injuries… She was walking two dogs and the dogs were also deceased.

Thunderstorms in California

As reported by CBS, meteorologists informed that thunderstorms like these were ‘caused by a low-pressure system off the coast pulling monsoonal moisture northward into the region'.

As per statistics there had been a total of nine deaths from lightning strikes in California since 2006. This was the first one this year. According to ABC, Pico Rivera City Manager Steve Carmona warned the locals of the town to stay inside until the storm passes. He said:

We should all be cautious with this activity that's in the area… We want everybody to be careful. There's a lot of instability in the air. Just be careful and do your best to stay indoors at this time.

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