Boy, 13, dies after lightning strike at New York City beach
A 13-year-old boy was killed and six other people were injured in a lightning strike at a New York City beach Thursday, police said.
The boy, identified by the New York City Police Department Friday as Carlos Ramos, was pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center.
Police were called to Orchard Beach in the Bronx after 5 p.m. Thursday and found seven people injured after a lightning strike. All seven were brought to Jacobi.
The others who were injured — a 41-year-old man, a 33-year-old woman, a 13-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy — were all expected to survive, police said.
"Our hearts go out to the victims of this tragic incident," Meghan Lalor, a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, said in a statement Thursday.
Lifeguards at Orchard Beach ordered people out of the water and made announcements to clear the beach before the lightning strike, according to the department.
The storm came through so fast that lightning struck before everyone could get off the beach, NBC New York reported.
The strike happened on a sweltering day in New York City. Excessive heat warnings had been issued for the region Thursday, with heat index values of over 100 degrees forecast.
Just before 5 p.m., there was a temperature reading of 92 degrees in Central Park in Manhattan, according to the National Weather Service. The high heat will remain through most of Friday.
