SARASOTA, Fla. -- A sad reminder about just how powerful and deadly lightning can be in the Bay area. Sarasota County Fire rescue says a 50-year-old woman was hit and killed Friday night when lightning struck.
She was trying to find shelter at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Cocoanut Avenue. Crews say lightning hit the gazebo she was standing under.
Friends tell 10News that they knew the woman as “Fontella”. She had been trying to ride out the intense lightning under a park shelter that has a metal roof. It’s a dangerous place to be, but those who knew her say as the storm rolled in she had nowhere else to go.
“Lots of lightning, it was sharp,” says park goer Michael Dickerson.
Michael Dickerson says the storm struck quickly in Sarasota.
10Weather Chief Meteorologist Jim Van Fleet warned on twitter of more than 1,300 strikes.
Over 1300 #lightning strikes in these storms. Tracking west, and should diminish next couple hours. #WTSP #flwx pic.twitter.com/tj7PcZOq7G
— Jim Van Fleet (@JamesVanFleet) August 26, 2016
It only took one bolt to take the life of 50-year-old Fontella.
“It hurt me; when I found out I cried,” says the victim’s friend who asked not to be identified. She tells 10News that Fontella's bike and belongings remain under the shelter where she lived, just feet from where she died.
“She didn't have a choice, she was homeless. She didn't have nowhere else to go. She was a loving person -- you know -- always gave us a hug and a kiss,” says the friend.
Witnesses tell 10News the lightning hit the shelter, crews put out a fire in a burning pile of clothes, but it was too late to save Fontella.
“It is sad, it is sad,” says Dickerson.
A devastating reminder if you can hear thunder, lightning is close enough to hit you.
Try to get in a building or car. If you can't, find a low spot but not under a tree, and stay away from metal and water.
“We should always be vigilant of storms, because they do roll up on us without being noticed,” says Dickerson.
