A New Jersey man was struck and killed by lightning over the weekend in Seaside Park while trying to warn his children about a dangerous thunderstorm.
Patrick Dispoto, 59, made sure his girlfriend, Ruth Fassel, was safe in her car before returning to J Street Beach Sunday evening, the woman said. News 12 New Jersey.
He climbed up a dune and onto the sand to warn children about the approaching storm. No lifeguards were on duty, Fussell told the outlet.
Seaside Park Police told the Asbury Park Press that Dispoto was found unconscious on the beach around 7:38 p.m., CPR was administered at the scene, and he was then transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead around 9 p.m.
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Patrick Dispoto is seen in an undated Facebook photo. (Patrick Dispoto on Facebook)
Patrick Dispoto, 59, was struck by lightning at J Street Beach in Seaside Park, New Jersey. (Google Maps)
News 12 reported that an autopsy on Tuesday confirmed Dispoto’s death was accidental, caused by a lightning strike.
Seaside Park Police told the Asbury Park Press that the beach was closed at the time and that no one witnessed the fatal lightning strike.
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According to the Seaside Park Police Department, Patrick Dispoto was found unconscious on the beach around 7:38 p.m. Sunday. (Seaside Park Police Department)
Dispoto’s death comes as the New Jersey Borough prepares to upgrade its lightning detection system to warn beachgoers of approaching storms, a plan that has been in the works for about a year. Asbury Park Press.
“We don’t want to tell people when a storm is coming, we want to let people know a storm is coming so they can get ahead of it,” Seaside Park Lifeguard Captain Jim Rankin told News 12.
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According to the National Weather Service, approximately 86 people are struck by lightning each year in the United States. (Fox 5DCWTTG)
“Beaches can be very dangerous places during thunderstorms. If you see the winds shifting, the temperatures going from hot to cold, you see the clouds, you hear the soft rumbles of thunder, those are signs to get off the beach,” Rankin said.
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According to the National Weather Service, about 86 people have been killed by lightning each year in the United States since 1959.
