HOBE SOUND, Fla. (AP) – Officials say a man was struck by lightning on a Florida beach.
Martin County Fire Rescue Bureau Chief Dan Harshburger told the Palm Beach Post that the man was hit Friday afternoon at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound.RELATED: 8 myths and facts about lightning
The man was taken to a Jupiter hospital in critical condition, according to the NBC affiliate WPTV. Farooq Muhammad, 43, was at the park with his family: his wife, mother-in-law and two sons, kicking a soccer ball around with his 7-year-old, when he was struck in the head, WPTV reported. His wife saw the lightning and heard a loud boom.
Witnesses told WPTV that it was only lightly raining at the park when the incident happened. It took the storm a few minutes to get to the park. But when the deputies arrived it was in full swing.
“The first deputy on scene said there was lightning all over the place and it was pouring down rain,” Sgt. Richard Parks, with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, told WPTV.
The storms rolled through the Tampa Bay area Friday afternoon, producing rain and a dramatic-looking shelf cloud.
