Crews from Clearwater Fire & Rescue are currently on-scene of two calls for a reported lightning strike on Clearwater Beach.
The first call was received shortly before 2:15 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, 2020. An adult male was reportedly struck by lightning at the end of Somerset Street on the sand.
A witness reported that paramedics were administering CPR on the male upon their arrival. He was rushed to Morton Plant Hospital with critical injuries.
A few minutes later, a call for service came in for another lightning strike patient along Somerset Street to the east of Mandalay Avenue. That victim is reportedly alert and conscious and was injured close this his proximity to the first patient at the time of the lightning strike.
Police say the incident occurred on the beach at the end of Somerset Street about halfway between the water line and the dunes.
At approximately 8 p.m., police reported that the first victim, 37 year-old Gacek Arkadiusz of Des Plaines, Illinois, remains in critical condition. The second victim, 43 year-old Sav Keomany of Pickerington, Ohio, remains in stable condition.
Both victims were trying to leave the beach when the incident occurred according to police.
When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!