Fil-Am teen killed by lightning days before high school graduation

She was quietly writing on her notebook at the O'Brien Park, Chicago when 17-year-old Filipino-American Jennie Dizon was suddenly struck and killed by lightning on Thursday last week, just a few days before her high school graduation.

According to a report of the Huffington Post, Dizon was sitting in the grass at the park just a few blocks from their home.

She had just dropped off her younger brother and sister off at a dentist's office when tragedy struck.

My Fox Chicago news site reported that a thunderstorm rolled through and lightning struck Dizon at around 5:20 p.m. on Thursday (US time).

Paramedics tried to revive her but she was declared dead on the scene at 5:45 p.m.

The report said the autopsy revealed that Dizon died of electrocution consistent with a lightning strike.

Dylan Baker who lives in the area where Dizon was fatally struck by lightning told My Fox that the lightning was "so loud you could feel it in your chest."

According to the National Geographic news site, the chances of being a lightning victim in the US is one in 700,000 while the odds of being struck in your lifetime stands at one in 3,000.

Distraught

On the Chicago Tribunal news site, Dizon's mother Marietta expressed how distraught she was over the death of daughter whom she described as someone with a golden heart.

"Whoever has met her, she has surely touched your heart. I think God had called her. We just have to place our whole trust in him,” Marietta said.

The officials of Benet Academy where Dizon studied also expressed their sorrow. In a statement, they said, "...her close friends, classmates, teachers, and the entire school community have had opportunities to recall her many talents, her unique gifts, and her wonderful personality."

"Through a combination of tears and laughter, we have also shared with one another our recollections of many memorable experiences with Jennie. Most importantly, as people of faith, we have celebrated her entrance into eternal life," they added.

Said to be a lover of music and the arts, Dizon was supposed to study theater production at the University of Cincinnati after finishing high school.

A wake for Dizon was scheduled on Sunday and Monday at Hallowell and James Funeral Home in Downers Grove.

A burial mass was scheduled for Tuesday at the St. Scholastica Church in Woodridge. - Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News