5 struck by lightning on Clearwater Beach, FL

[iluvseashore]

3 victims still in hospital
By MEGAN SCOTT, Times Staff Writer
Published July 25, 2005

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CLEARWATER BEACH - Three of five people struck by lightning at Clearwater Beach remained hospitalized Sunday, one in critical condition.

The bolt struck Saturday evening and knocked three people unconscious. A pregnant woman also was hit. She lost sensation in her arms and legs.

Two of the victims, Darrell Fults, 22, and Casey Douglas, 19, both of Franklin, Tenn., were taken to Morton Plant Hospital, said Joel Gray, division chief for Clearwater Fire Rescue.

Fults was in critical condition but improving Sunday, said Gentry Fox, his stepfather, who drove from Smyrna, Tenn. Douglas was in good condition.

"When we got here, Darrell was on a respirator and in a medically induced comatose condition," Fox said. "They have removed the respirator. He has regained consciousness. He is confused ... but after an event like that, who wouldn't be?"

Fults and Douglas, who are engaged and have a 1-month old son, were at the beach with Fults' cousin, Matthew Fults, 21, of Brandon. Matthew Fults helped the pregnant woman, Susan Darquea, out of the water. He was treated at Morton Plant and released Saturday night.

Darquea was taken to Largo Medical Center, transferred to Bayfront Medical and later released. Another victim, as yet unidentified, was taken to Largo Medical.

The lightning struck about 5 p.m., Gray said. The bolt flickered for about three seconds.

Witnesses said Darrell Fults was in waist-deep water when he was hit. His arms went up and the electricity appeared to lift him out of the water. When the bolt disappeared, he dropped back in the water. Bystanders performed CPR on the three unconscious victims. Several flagged down a fire truck that had been on the beach's roundabout when the bolt hit.

"The patients had care within a minute and a half of having been struck," Gray said. "They were trying to treat these people out in the open and there's still lightning banging around."

Fox, an assistant fire chief in Franklin, Tenn., called the event "freakish."