Northwest

Man Struck by Lightning Near Margate Apartment Complex

What to Know

  • Officials arrived at the scene near Northwest 4th Place and 76th Avenue, just north of Atlantic Boulevard, after reports of the incident.
  • An officer confirmed to NBC 6 that one person was struck and taken to an area hospital, but their name and condition were not released.

A man was rushed to the hospital after being struck by lightning in Margate Monday.

Officials arrived at the scene near Northwest 4th Place and 76th Avenue, just north of Atlantic Boulevard, after reports of the incident just before noon.

Margate-Coconut Creek Fire Rescue Chief Dan Booker said that one man was struck and taken to an area hospital in serious condition, but his name was not released.

Officials said the man was with tow other workers cutting grass in a field when the lightning struck. He was later identified as 55-year-old Eltine Rico, an employee of Potter's Lawn and Landscape.

"When I heard the thunder, I'm afraid of it, I went like that and thought about him and went to look and he was already on the ground," said witness Susana Miranda.

One of the crew members who was with the man when he was struck said he felt the electric charge.

"I went running and asked him how he was doing and to help him and he never responded. His face and his eyes looked bad," his coworker, Jesus Bella, said in Spanish.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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