LIGHTNING VICTIM WAS FROM ELIZABETH
Authorities say the man who was killed by a lightning strike on Sandy Hook Sunday was a 38-year-old Elizabeth resident.
Two others, women in their 30s whose identities have also not been disclosed, were injured by the strike. They were reported to be in stable condition last night at Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Down in Cape May County, four people were hospitalized after three lightning strikes within an hour. Two of the victims were hit on a beach, one was on an amusement pier, and one was in a parking lot, the New York Times reports.
A total of 12 people were struck by lightning in the New York-New Jersey region, according to various reports.
The Press, citing National Parks Service spokesman Brian Feeney as the source, said the deceased man was found dead at the scene, and two others who survived the strike were found by park rangers on Beach Area B around noon, after a 911 call from a beachgoer came in at 12:12 p.m.
The area is not a swimming beach, so no lifeguards were present at the time of the strike, but the three were on the sand and not in the water, Feeney said.
This from today’s New York Post:
Beachgoers watched grimly as a white sheet was draped over the victim’s body before he was taken away. “I wanted to get the kids out of here,” said one mother, Beth Firgau.
The dead man had been with five pals, including the other two who were struck.