MOURY, N.C. — A North Carolina corrections officer died after being hit by lightning earlier this month, making this year the first known lightning lethal death in the United States.
Bolt attacked 39-year-old Santonio Cato while fishing on April 11, according to information from the National Weather Service and the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.
North Carolina wildlife officials said Cato was fishing with his son and several others, and was fishing when he was thrown from the boat at 9pm in Northeast Creek Park near Jacksonville, North Carolina. Members of Catoe’s fishing group immediately pulled him back to the boat, but he didn’t respond. He was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead.
Officials said Cateau was working at the Eastern Correctional Facility in Morley, North Carolina. A colleague celebrated his life at his funeral on Tuesday.
Before his position in the North Carolina correction, he served in the US Marines.
Catoe is an avid outdoorsman and leaves behind a wife and four children, according to a GoFundMe page set for his family.
Second reported fisheries-related lightning death in Mississippi
Second related death due to lightning strikes during fishing in Mississippi on Tuesday.
According to WLBT-TV, police say a fisherman was struck by lightning while out in the Goshen area.
Police told police that witnesses reported that the victim had come out on the water as a thunderstorm approached.
Fishing leads the cause of our lightning deaths
Fisheries have been the leading cause of lightning strikes in the country since 2006, according to the National Lightning Safety Council, an organization that promotes lightning safety.
According to the council, fishing is particularly dangerous as it requires extra time to reach safe spaces.
Organization data shows that since 2006, 44 lightning bolts have been occurring related to fishing.
Other most dangerous activities that contribute to lightning strikes include beach recreation, boating and agriculture.
Last year, 12 people were killed in the United States by lightning, and an average of 20 people are killed nationwide each year.
Summer months are on average the most lightning deaths in the country, as the number of people taking part in outdoor activities is generally increasing, consistent with the peak of thunderstorm activity in the United States.
Safety experts told the weather in Fox that the best way to avoid lightning is to go indoors immediately whenever you hear lightning.
