MADISON, Wis. -- A woman and child waiting at a bus stop at a flooded Madison intersection were electrocuted Wednesday, along with a man who tried to render aid when lightning hit a utility pole and caused a live wire to fall into the water.

VIDEO: Watch The Report | VIDEO: Eyewitness Recalls Fatal Tragedy | SLIDESHOW: Images Of Scene Near Northport Drive, Sherman Avenue

Madison police spokesman Mike Hanson called it a "horrific, tragic event" that killed the three near the intersection of Northport Drive and Sherman Avenue around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

An eyewitness, Nicole L'Minggio, said that she saw lightning strike a transformer on a power pole near the intersection and that the transformer caught fire. She said that she also saw power lines fall to the ground and in the flood water as the bus was approaching.

A small child waiting to get on the bus then tried to enter the water and was injured but survived. Hanson said a man on the bus got off to render aid and also was electrocuted.

Authorities said the bus driver tried to get off the bus to help but was shocked and fell back into the vehicle. The driver and child were taken to University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison for treatment. Their condition isn't known.

Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Lori Wirth said that firefighters were on their way to another call on Wednesday when they saw the incident near the intersection. She said that they saw the street was flooded and that a bus was stopped in the flooding with water up to the vehicle's bumper.

The intersection in north Madison was closed and traffic was closed for several hours Wednesday as authorities investigated. Hanson said that Madison police are leading the investigation.

"At this point it's a police investigation. We have detectives, investigators and command staff on scene. At this point, this is all we can investigate. It does not appear to be a criminal incident. It's just a horrific tragedy," Hanson said.

Hanson said the bus will be taken into storage as part of routine procedure.

"A lot of officers were affected because they couldn't jump in there and help because the wires were still live. There are some heavy hearts," Hanson said.

The victims' names haven't been released pending notification of relatives.

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz came to the scene and said that officials believe the incident is a tragic accident.

"It's just a horrible tragedy with three people deceased. It appears to be a complete accident, a completely unlikely event, and we're all just thinking about the victims and their families right now," Cieslewicz said.

As details of the incident are pieced together, investigators have been working to collect any accounts from witnesses. Only a few onlookers said they saw the events unfold firsthand, and they said that everything happened in a matter of seconds.

"(The victims) were still on the ground while the smoke was covering them. I guess they died instantly because of the shock," said Derrick Williams, who said he was at the scene when the incident occurred. "(It happened in) less than 3 or 4 seconds. It was so quick, like, boom, boom, boom, boom."

MG&E spokesman Steve Kraus said that 1,800 customers were without service in that area of the city, but that half of that number had power restored by about 5:40 p.m. Power was restored to remaining customers Wednesday night.

Sherman Avenue was reopened to traffic Wednesday night, WISC-TV reported.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.