MARGATE, FL — A mother and her 2-year-old daughter were killed Sunday afternoon in Margate by a lightning strike, multiple reports said.
The woman, Kenya Glasgow, 31, and the toddler were found lying on the sidewalk by responding members of the Margate Police Department and Margate Fire Department around 2:30 p.m., Local 10 News said.
The mother was brought to North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach, while her daughter was taken to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale with a police escort.
Both died not long after being brought to their respective hospitals, reports said.
A man told CBS News that he rushed his family inside as the storm approached.
After hearing thunder and seeing an orange glow outside, Prince Moody's son told him that someone had been struck by lightning.
The boy told him, "'Hey, Dad. I think somebody got hit. There's a lady on the floor,'" according to Moody. "And I'm like, 'What? No way. Stop, man.' And he said, 'No, look.' And I looked out my window, and I saw a lady on the floor."
While he rushed to help Glasgow, he noticed her daughter on the ground, just a few feet from her mother.
"Charred. It's a scene that I never want to see again," Moody said.
Another man who called 911 and then tried to help the victims told NBC 6 that he saw burn marks and smoke coming from their bodies.
"I told one of the family members we need to slip her over to perform CPR, but she had two holes in her chest, and thank God the ambulance was coming down the street, and I said, 'They're here, they're here,' and I directed him to the baby, and they took the baby right away and a second ambulance came for the mother," the man said.
So far this year, there have been 12 deaths from lightning strikes in the U.S., according to the National Lightning Safety Council.
Four of these deaths were in Florida, including the mother and daughter on Sunday in Margate, an 18-year-old man struck while kayaking in Santa Rosa County on May 31 and a 51-year-old man struck while in the water at Fort Myers Beach over the July 4 holiday weekend.
See Also:
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Miami Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.