Forrest County Deputy Coroner Lisa Klem said Charles Whorton III of Lumberton died of the consequences of a lightning strike. He was pronounced dead at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg at 6:06 p.m.
Klem said Whorton was struck on Pine Burr Road in Lumberton.
Lamar County Emergency Management Director James Smith said Whorton and another man were outside and the other man was walking around the back of a pickup when he heard a loud pop near the front of the truck and saw Whorton fall to the ground. The other man called 911 and administered CPR until responders arrived on scene, Smith said.
Smith said the lightning bolt that hit Whorton left a hole in the ground.
"I guess this is what you would call a direct hit," he said.
Both Klem and Smith said it's the first lightning strike death they have worked in their careers.
In April, 37-year-old Tim Edge of Mantachie was riding horses with his father when lightning struck Edge and his horse. Brian Jones of Florence died in a house fire after lightning struck his home in April.
A lightning strike killed four miniature horses in Lawrence County last year, and a woman was injured and her horse was killed in 2014 when they were struck by lightning.
According to NOAA statistics, 27 people were killed by lightning strike in the United States last year, 11 in the month of June. The summer months tend to have the most instances, partly because people are outside more frequently.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter