A 16-year-old boy died Wednesday after being struck by lightning while riding a bicycle in Florida, police said.
The teen was found lying in the grass in the area of Southwest 67th Avenue and Southwest 6th Street in Pembroke Pines, a city about 22 miles north of Miami, police said in a statement to NBC News. He was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to preliminary information from the Pembroke Pines Police Department, he was struck by lightning.
Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue officials told NBC South Florida that the teen had burns on his chest and inner thighs. Neighbors told the outlet that there was a hole in the sidewalk near where the teen was found that wasn’t there before the storm.
Strong winds and heavy rain were seen on the doorbell video around 5 p.m. that night. Zandra Laguna, who lives nearby, told NBC South Florida that she went outside and saw the teen across the street on his bike just before the lightning struck.
“I thought for a second that I had been hit because it was so loud and it looked like a flash and I realized I was fine so I ran inside,” Laguna said. “I’d heard lightning before but never that loud.”
“Nobody thinks you’re going to get hit like this, let alone die from it,” she said.
Officials at McArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida, told NBC South Florida that the victim was an 11th-grader, but his name has not yet been released.
Principal Mark Howard sent a message to parents and staff indicating that grief counselors would be available on campus for as long as needed.
“I offer my deepest condolences to the student’s family and loved ones, teachers and classmates,” Principal Mark Howard said in the message, NBC South Florida reported. “He will be missed.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
