lightning
A 71-year-old golfer was killed after he was struck by a bolt of lightning during one of the recent strong storms in Lackawanna County.

Joseph Slivinski, of Blakely, was struck by lightning around 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Pine Hills Golf Course in Taylor, WNEP is reporting.

The Lackawanna County Coroner's report came out Sunday, saying Slivinski was trying to seek shelter when the storm moved in, WBRE/WYOU is reporting.


Slivinski was a regular golfer at the course, where other golfers remembered him as a great guy, according to reports.

On Sunday, his death weighed heavily on his fellow golfers.

"Even if you're having a good round or anything, you should go right into the clubhouse, it's too dangerous. You're using clubs that are made of metal and graphite and stuff like that. One lighting strike could hit those clubs, and honestly, you'd die," Pine Hills regular golfer Kyle Puchalski told WBRE/WYOU.

Scott Kozar, owner and general manager of Pine Hills, told the station when a storm is near, a ranger tries to alert golfers on the course.

Slivinski's death has not yet been registered by the National Weather Service, which has so far tracked two lightning-related deaths in 2021. One occurred on a golf course in New Jersey, and the other on a beach in South Carolina.

There were 13 lightning deaths in the U.S. last year and 15 in 2019.