Off-Duty FL Deputy Hospitalized After Lightning Hit His Cruiser: Reports

DORAL, FL — An off-duty Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office deputy was hospitalized after being struck by lightning while sitting in his cruiser on Thursday afternoon, multiple reports said.

The lightning strike happened around 5:15 p.m. near the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue headquarters in Doral, at 9300 NW 41st Street, Local 10 reported.

The deputy was sitting in his vehicle working on an off-duty assignment at the time of the lightning strike, WSVN said.

He was brought to HCA Florida Kendall as a trauma alert and later released, reports said.

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The lightning strike happened weeks after a 31-year-old woman and her toddler daughter were killed by a lightning strike in Margate.

So far this year, there have been 14 deaths from lightning strikes in the U.S., according to the National Lightning Safety Council.

Five of these deaths were in Florida, including a jet skier struck near Fort De Soto Park last week, 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, in addition to the mother and daughter in Margate.

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