A 59-year-old man was fatally struck by lightning while trying to alert swimmers of the arrival of a storm this Sunday, June 23 on a beach at Seaside Park Beach in New Jersey (United States).
An altruistic thought that ultimately cost him his life. Patrick Dispoto, a 59-year-old man, died this Wednesday after being struck by lightning on a beach at Seaside Park Beach in New Jersey (United States).
The victim was heading towards his vehicle to leave the beach, in the company of his partner Ruth Fussell, when the latter wanted to alert the swimmers of the imminent arrival of a storm.
After several unanswered phone calls and around fifteen minutes of waiting, Patrick Dispoto’s companion looked for him on the beach and found his lifeless body, according to CNN.
Despite the rapid intervention of emergency services, the 59-year-old man finally succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Tests carried out on his body concluded that his death was accidental “caused by lightning”.
According to the National Lightning Safety Council, this is the third lightning death of the year in the United States and the first in New Jersey since 2021. Since 2006, New Jersey has had 16 lightning deaths, including five on beaches.
A few days after the death of the fifty-year-old, the municipality installed an impact detection system. The device provides lightning alerts by monitoring strikes in clouds, but also between clouds and the ground.
