Brevard County Lifeguard Captain Ashley Nolan was the first to respond to help the men. The men were hit at SPRA Park in the 400 block of State Road A1A at the end of Berkeley Street.
"I was just heading home and you could see the lightning strikes and how close it was to the beach," Nolan said. "I see a gentleman darting directly out into traffic, waving for help. I knew instantly that someone had been struck."
Nolan gave CPR to the man and checked his pulse until paramedics arrived.
"I knew he had been down for less than a minute," she said.
That man, whose name was not released Friday, died from his injuries at a hospital, Sheriff's Office spokesman Tod Goodyear announced at 7:45 p.m. The other person struck was being treated at a hospital Friday night, he said.
Neither of the men were Brevard County residents, Goodyear said.
Florida's rainy season, with its frequent afternoon storms, presents a lightning threat, particularly for beachgoers.
"We try to warn people all the time and try to get people off the beach" when a storm is coming, Nolan said.
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