MARGATE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida man is fighting for his life hours after, officials said, he was struck by lightning while doing landscaping work at an apartment complex in Margate.
Margate Fire Rescue crews responded to the scene of the incident near 7400 N.W. 4th Place to care for the landscaper, later identified as Rico Eltine, Monday afternoon.
Paramedics performed CPR on the 55-year-old landscaper before transporting him to Northwest Medical Center in critical condition. As of Tuesday afternoon, Eltine remains at the hospital in critical condition.
Monday night, loved ones described Eltine as a hardworking man and a good provider.
“He’s a nice, caring guy. He’s always there when you need him,” said Mryolelainda Compare, his goddaughter. “I can really rely on him.”
According to officials, the man was holding a weed eater when lightning hit.
“We’ve had quite a few lightning strikes, pretty close strikes,” said Kriplean.
Residents in the neighborhood witnessed the incident.
“It was scary, you know, because I heard the lightning,” said one resident.
“It was the back of my apartment, and my wife saw somebody laying down on the ground,” said another resident. “He was working with the grass.”
Police said the lightning was so relentless that rescue units had to drive behind the building to care for Eltine.
“They didn’t walk out into the open field to risk any kind of injury, so that’s why they took one of the police cars back there,” said Margate Police Sgt. Robert Kriplean. “They loaded him up inside the police car, then brought him back up here to where they were able to get him into a rescue vehicle.”
One woman said she saw someone who claimed to be the victim’s relative. “His brother is in the backyard, running, running, running, screaming, ‘My brother, my brother! My brother! Don’t go, my brother!’” she said. “He go over here, and he’s crying, crying, crying.”
Monday night, family members remained at the hospital, including Eltine’s wife. “She felt it was tragic and sad,” said a relative who translated for her.
“He’s a good guy. I hope he will get better,” said Compare.
Nina Potter Fernandez, president of the landscaping company Eltine works for, also spoke with 7News.
“Mother Nature is very powerful and unpredictable,” she said.
Another lightning strike in Coral Springs is believed to be the cause of a small fire in the attic of a home. The family was home, but no one was injured.
Officials are warning the public to stay indoors when lightning is occurring.
“When you see any kind of storms or lightning strike, the best place to be is indoors,” Kriplean said.
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