A 59-year-old American man was struck by lightning on a New Jersey beach while trying to tell young people to get out of the water, ABC News reported.
Patrick Dispoto was enjoying a day off with his lover in the municipality of Seaside Park in the state of New Jersey. Seeing the storm approaching the beach, the couple decided to leave the site.
However, the individual had noticed that a few children had remained in the water, on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. “I told him that it was in his best interest not to go, but he wanted to warn them that the storm was going to hit them,” Ruth Fussell told the American media. Although she insisted several times that she and he take shelter, her partner nevertheless stood up to her.
“I’ll be right back” were the man’s last words to his beloved.
After waiting 15 minutes, she rushed to the beach to find her unconscious partner.
Photo taken from Facebook / Patrick Dispoto
Authorities rushed him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.
Seaside Park police confirmed to News 12 that the man’s death was caused by lightning.
“In a storm, the beach is a very dangerous place,” lifeguard Jim Rankin told News 12. “If you feel the wind shifting, there’s a temperature swing, you see gray clouds and you hear little rumbles of thunder, that’s a sign to leave.”
