A 16-year-old boy died Wednesday after he was apparently 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.
The preliminary information was that he was struck by lightning, the Pembroke Pines Police Department said.
Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue officials told NBC South Florida that the teen had burn wounds on his chest and inner thighs. Neighbors told the outlet there was a hole in the pavement near where the teen was found that hadn't been there before the storm.
Strong winds and heavy rain appeared on doorbell video around 5 p.m. that evening. Zandra Laguna, who lives in the neighborhood, told NBC South Florida she went outside and saw the teen across the street on his bike just moments before a lightning strike.
“I thought I got hit for a second because it was so loud and it was like a flash and I realized that I was fine, so I ran inside," Laguna said. "I heard lightning before but never that loud.”
“No one thinks you’re gonna get hit like that let alone pass away from it,” she said.
Officials at McArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida, told NBC South Florida the teen was an 11th grader there, but his name has not yet been released.
Principal Mark Howard sent out a message to parents and staff saying grief counselors would be available on campus as long as necessary.
“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.”
