Zachary Fordem, who was working behind the Island Princess condominium when he was struck, was taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center with CPR in progress, according to Rich Huffnagle, Okaloosa County's beach safety division chief.
Fordem, of Freeport, was pronounced dead at the hospital later, the Sheriff's Office said.
Okaloosa Island firefighters got the call about 3:26 p.m., according to department officials. They arrived to find bystanders carrying the victim to the pool area.
"They thought they were doing all the good to carry him to the Island Princess," Capt. John Brinkerhoff said.
Unfortunately, the ambulance was at the beach access where the call came in, which meant firefighters had to carry the victim back to the waiting vehicle, where they started CPR.
Brinkerhoff said they had heard what sounded like three lightning strikes just before getting the call about the victim.
Witnesses said the beach vendor was about 20 feet from the water when he was struck.
Although no local numbers were available, statewide there were more than 3,000 strikes in a two-hour period, according to lightningmaps.org.
Florida leads the country in lightning strike deaths. There have been five in 2016, although none in the Panhandle. Louisiana is second with four lightning fatalities.
During the storm, Fort Walton Beach firefighters were called to the C.H. "Bull" Rigdon Fairgrounds and Recreation Complex after a report about another person struck by lightning. However, crews could not find a victim, according to city Public Information Officer Jo Soria.
Weather caused havoc throughout the afternoon, but it wasn't all lightning-related.
A man from Tennessee drowned off Navarre Beach just before the storm.
Bystanders pulled him from the water about 2:15 p.m. after he was found floating facedown, according to officials there.
His rescuers began CPR until Navarre Beach firefighters arrived and took over.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Red flags were flying at the time.
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