6-year-old boy dies after battling lightning-related injuries in Texas

Allison Finch
·2 min read
1

A 6-year-old boy died in Texas on Friday following a lengthy battle with injuries suffered from a lightning strike last month.

Grayson Boggs, of Valley Mills, Texas, was struck by lightning when he, his brother and his late father were walking home from the bus stop in May. Grayson sustained permanent brain damage and was in a coma following the strike. According to KWTX, he stayed in the intensive care unit for several weeks. He was taken off a ventilator this week.

"Grayson went to be our Lord and his father at 5:05 a.m. [local time Friday]," an update from a GoFundMe page, which was initially made after Grayson's father passed away last month from the lightning strike, stated. "Please pray for our family at this time. Fly high, sweet boy."

Grayson's father, 34-year-old Matthew Boggs, died on Monday, May 15, 2023, when a lightning strike hit him and traveled through his hand to his son. Emergency responders pronounced Matthew dead at the scene.

GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

Grayson's brother, 11-year-old Elijah Boggs, was just feet away from the situation when it happened in May. Elijah told KWTX in May that the whole encounter was scary.

"I was really scared. I rolled Grayson over, and he was kind of smiling a little bit. I thought they were just joking, but when I rolled my dad over, the middle of his head was bleeding and his face was already purple," Elijah told KWTX in May.

At the time, Matthew Boggs' death was the third lightning fatality in the United States and the first in Texas.

Lightning-related fatalities in the United States as of June 16, 2023.

Since then, there has been one additional lightning-related fatality. On May 22, 24-year-old Edvin Velasquez Cinto was killed when a lightning strike knocked him off a roof he was working on.

Grayson's death marks the fifth lightning fatality in the U.S. and the second in Texas this year, according to the National Lightning Safety Council.

Based on the past 10 years, the U.S. averages five lighting fatalities through June 16, according to National Lightning Safety Council data.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.