Man killed by lightning strike while warning others of incoming storm

A man has died after being struck by lightning as he selflessly went to warn others of the incoming storm.

Patrick Dispoto was at Seaside Park Beach in New Jersey with his girlfriend Ruth Fussell on Sunday when they realised the storm was approaching.

The couple returned to their car, but Patrick, 59, told Ruth to wait in the car while he returned to the beach to warn other people about the incoming storm, despite her protests.

After about 15 minutes and several phone calls Ruth went back to the beach where she found Patrick unconscious with a stranger standing over him.

Paramedics performed CPR before rushing him to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Seaside Park Police Sergeant Andrew Casole confirmed that Patrick died an ‘accidental death caused by lightning strike’.

Ruth told WABC: ‘He said, “I’ll be right back”. I said “you have you have no business going back”. And he says, “I’m just going to warn these kids because the sky is going to open. I’m just going to warn these kids — one minute”. I said “no”.

‘He [the stranger] was saying, “Help, help, 911”. I administered mouth to mouth, and the guy’s wife was doing chest compressions.’

Ruth said Patrick never passed up an opportunity to make other peoples’ lives easier, adding: ‘So, his last act of heroism was his ultimate, and that’s my Patrick Dispoto.’

According to the National Lightning Safety Council, this is the third lightning death in the United States this year, and the first death in New Jersey since 2021 when a lifeguard was struck and killed on a beach in South Seaside Park.

Since 2006, New Jersey has had 16 lightning deaths, five were on beaches.

Three days after Patrick’s death, Seaside Park installed a lightning warning system – but a borough administrator stressed that it had not been installed in response to his death, saying the system had been purchased back in April and installation scheduled for Wednesday.

The system, which cost $50,000 (£39,500), monitors cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in a radius of up to 20 miles.

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