A beachgoer was struck and killed by lightning on a Jersey Shore beach on Sunday as he bravely returned to warn children at the beach of an approaching storm.
Patrick Dispoto, 59, had just left J Street Beach in Seaside Park, Ocean County, with his girlfriend, Ruth Fassel, around 7 p.m. when they noticed ominous clouds rapidly approaching. According to News 12 New Jersey.
Dispoto, from Toms River, became increasingly concerned about the children’s safety because the lifeguards had already finished their shift and left.
“He said, ‘I’ll be right back,’ and I said, ‘You don’t have to come back,'” Fassel told the outlet of her final conversation with her boyfriend.
“He said, ‘I’m just going to warn the kids because the skies are going to open up. I’m just going to warn the kids for a minute.’ I said, ‘No.’
Her heartbroken girlfriend said Dispoto first took her to safety before returning to the beach to warn others.
Fifteen minutes later, after receiving three missed calls to Dispoto, Fassel returned to the beach.
According to the outlet, Dispoto was found face down in the sand with a stranger standing over him and screaming for help, but his children were nowhere to be seen.
She immediately rushed to Dyspoto’s side and, together with the stranger’s wife, began CPR on the unconscious Dyspoto.
Dispoto was then taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“The doctor said they had to unplug me after 45 minutes of no oxygen to my brain. I said, ‘No,'” Fassel said.
Dispoto’s death was caused by a lightning strike. Police confirmed this to NJ Advance Media.
Fassel said her selfless boyfriend was always willing to help those in need and that she wants him to be remembered for the brave acts he did to make a difference in the world.
“His final act of heroism was his ultimate, and that’s who I am Patrick Dispoto,” she told the outlet.
Dispoto’s death comes just three years after 19-year-old lifeguard Keith Pinto was struck and killed by lightning while trying to rescue a tourist at White Sands Beach in South Seaside Park.
Four beachgoers were injured when Pinto was struck and killed by lightning.
After his death, a part of the beach was named in the boy’s honor.
Seaside Park is in the process of installing three lightning warning systems to cover the 1.5-mile stretch of beach, News 12 reported.
The system, approved in April, will provide warning before a storm reaches the coastline, giving beachgoers enough time to get to safety.
Since 1959, an average of 86 people have been killed by lightning each year in the United States. According to the National Weather Service.
The average person has a 1 in 600,000 chance of being struck by lightning in their lifetime.
The agency said even the weakest thunderstorms can produce lightning, and most fatal lightning strikes occur while victims are swimming, hiking or playing golf.
