PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - A landscaper in Pembroke Pines was taken to the hospital after, firefighters said, he was possibly struck by lightning.
The incident happened along Southwest 87th Way, north of Pembroke Road, just before 3 p.m., Wednesday.
According to Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue, the man was working on a median and holding a shovel.
Lightning was reported throughout Broward County, Wednesday afternoon.
First responders said they did not find any obvious entrance or exit marks on the man and did not find burn marks on the ground from the possible strike, which fire officials said is unusual for a lightning strike.
Hours later, fire officials said it is very likely the man was indirectly struck by lightning.
Gisele Pean, who lives nearby, described what she heard.
“I was inside the house when I heard the lightning,” she said. “It was like a really … like I was screaming like, ‘Oh, my God’ because it was like a big boom. When I came outside, the people was standing in front of my door because it was raining so hard. They’re standing in front of my door, and I ask them what happened. They said one of their co-workers went to get a shovel because they were leaving, and when he went and picked up the shovel, the lightning just strike him. He wasn’t saying anything, no. He wasn’t talking. He was just moving back and forth.”
7 Skyforce hovered over a nearby home where the landscaper was possibly struck. A worker could be seen reenacting what had happened to his colleague.
“That is dangerous,” Pean said. “It was really a big, big boom that happened. It was a big thing. Very frightening.”
Fire rescue crews have transported the man to Memorial Regional Hospital after he went into cardiac arrest. His injuries are said to be life-threatening, and he remains inside the hospital’s intensive care unit.
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