A 16-year-old girl has died after she was struck by lightning while hunting with her father in Florida, officials say.
Baylee Holbrook and her father had been hunting on Tuesday when lightning “struck a tree, hitting them,” the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said.
Her father lost consciousness and when he awoke he found his daughter was not breathing.
He called 911 and began CPR, and the teen was transported to HCA Florida Putnam Hospital in Palatka, where she was stabilized enough to be taken to a trauma center. She had been listed in critical condition on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office said it learned that Baylee had “peacefully passed away” that morning surrounded by her family.
Metal does not attracts lighting. The danger is elevation. The bolt stroke a tree and she was likely shocked because the ground itself became conductive. In a thunderstorm don’t stand near trees, don’t lay down, you get the fuck out and find shelter or a non-elevated area away from trees and elevated structures.
They were probably in a tree stand. Fifteen foot metal ladder with a seat at the top. Basically a lightning rod.
Electricity takes the path of least resistance. Simple as that.