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Article: 1 dead, several hurt in Fla. lightning strike
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- July 5, 2009
- Author:
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A lightning strike at a Fourth of July gathering in central Florida killed one person and 18 others were taken to hospitals, officials said Saturday.
About 100 people from a church group were outside playing soccer and volleyball in Lakeland, about 30 miles east of Tampa, when a lightning bolt or series of strikes hit nearby, seemingly out of nowhere, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Benjamin Gonzalez, 30, who was playing soccer, was hit and collapsed. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. Eighteen others were hospitalized and nine more treated at the scene.
Judd said their injuries were not life-threatening, with symptoms including numbness and ...