A tragic incident unfolded when it was reported that a man who died from a lightning strike on a Florida beach was actually on his honeymoon.
Volusia County Beach Safety confirmed that the 29-year-old victim, who had recently traveled to Colorado with his new wife, was struck by lightning while wading in ankle-deep water on Friday afternoon.
He was rushed to a local hospital but unfortunately succumbed to his injuries, as shared by Tammy Malfer, the Beach Safety director, during an update to WESH on Monday.
Malfer stated that the storm was still quite distant from the beach at the time, calling the lightning strike “a very rare event.”
“The sky was blue, and the storm was several miles away,” a witness pointed out to WESH.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood expressed sorrow over the incident, noting that the man was a tourist celebrating his honeymoon.
“It’s heartbreaking to lose such a young man, especially at 29, when he should have had many more anniversaries with his wife ahead of him,” Chitwood remarked in a Facebook post.
Jake A. Rosenkrantz, a Colorado resident, was reportedly standing in the ocean when the tragic lightning strike occurred around 12:30 PM at New Smyrna Beach.
Additionally, city officials confirmed that two other individuals were “indirectly struck” by lightning on the same day while playing golf at the Venetian Bay Golf Course. Both required hospitalization.
Florida is known for its high frequency of lightning strikes, experiencing more strikes per square mile than any other state, averaging about 1.2 million strikes annually, according to the Florida Department of Health.
This unfortunate event marks the first lightning-related fatality in Florida for 2025.
So far this year, at least three lightning-related deaths have been recorded in other states, including North Carolina, Mississippi, and Texas, as reported by the National Weather Service.
Efforts to contact Volusia County Beach Safety and the Sheriff’s office for further comments did not yield immediate responses.
