4 women knocked unconscious after lightning strike on Florida beach

Yahoo

6 days ago

A vacation in Florida almost turned deadly after a lightning strike at a beach knocked four women unconscious.
The four women, who are all friends visiting from Kentucky, were spending some time along the Gulf coast in Marco Island, Florida, Saturday when a thunderstorm quickly approached.
"The siren went off, and we knew there was a storm coming," said Danielle Sturgill, who was one of the women who was struck, according to ABC News. "The nearest thing to us was a little tiki hut and that's where we decided to take shelter."
All four were unconscious for a time and were later transported to a local hospital where they were treated with minor injures.
"When I first woke up, I couldn't feel my legs at all. They were completely numb," said Kelli Bryant, another one of the women who was under the hut at the time of the strike.
One day earlier, a 29-year-old Colorado man on his honeymoon died after being hit by lightning at New Smyrna Beach, Florida, located about 45 miles northeast of Orlando.
"So sorry for the tragic loss of a young man here on a delayed honeymoon with his wife," Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. "At 29 years old, he should have had many more anniversaries with her for years to come. Sending sincere condolences to this young woman on behalf of all of us in Volusia County who were hoping against hope that the diligent efforts of our lifeguards, EMS team and ER staff would bring him back to her."
There have been four lightning-related fatalities across the United States so far in 2025, according to the National Lightning Safety Council (NLSC).
Being at the beach is one of the "deadly dozen" activities for lightning-related deaths and ranks as the second-deadliest, only after fishing. Since 2006, lightning has killed 32 people at beaches across the country.
This week is Lightning Safety Awareness Week, when officials highlight the danger of lightning as people spend more time outdoors during the summer months. Most of lightning injuries and deaths occur in June, July and August.
"National Lightning Safety Awareness week was started in 2001 to call attention to this underrated killer. Since then, U.S. lightning fatalities have dropped from about 55 per year to about 20," the NLSC explained. "This reduction in fatalities is believed to be largely due to greater awareness of the lightning danger, and people seeking safety when thunderstorms threaten."
You can receive alerts on your phone when lightning is detected in your area by downloading the free AccuWeather app and enabling lightning alerts for your location.