Lightning strikes man seconds before he plunges off roof and dies, Florida cops say
A deadly lightning strike sent a man plummeting off the roof of a Florida home, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
It happened about 2 p.m. Monday, May 22, at a home on Sterling Pointe Drive in Deltona, and co-workers witnessed the strike, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Deltona is about 30 miles northeast of Orlando.
“Witnesses reported their coworker was standing on the roof of a house working on the framing when a lightning bolt struck him and caused him to fall to the concrete below,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Edvin J. Velasquez Cinto, 24, was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced deceased around 2:39 p.m.”
Storms, including lightning, were in the forecast for the day. An examination of Cinto’s injuries showed they were “consistent with a lightning strike.”
“However, an official cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner,” the sheriff’s office said.
If confirmed, it would count as the fourth lightning death of 2023 across the United States, according to data compiled by the National Lightning Safety Council.
“A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps. In comparison, household current is 120 Volts and 15 Amps,” the National Weather Service reports.
Direct strikes are often fatal, while nearby strikes can result in burns, blunt force trauma, heart attack and “stroke-like symptoms, including numbness, weakness, confusion, and a facial droop,” Prevention.com reports.
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