by Todd Malland
MANCHESTER-A 33-year-old middle school teacher from Manchester Middle School was struck by lightning while tending to bus duty outside of the building on Wednesday afternoon. The 8th grade teacher from Toms River was working bus duty at the end of the school day when the umbrella she was holding was struck by lightning. The incident occurred at approximately 2:30 PM when school personnel were preparing for dismissal. The teacher was standing on the sidewalk in front of the school with other staff members when the strike occurred. After the incident, she was escorted into the school building by two other teachers and taken to the nurse’s office. Officers from the Manchester Township Police Department responded as did EMTs from the Manchester Volunteer First Aid Squad. Upon arrival, the teacher, who was alert and conscious but reporting tingling to her hand and arm, was transported to Jersey Shore Medical Center, in Neptune for treatment and evaluation of non-life threatening injuries.