Woodbridge Township, N.J. employee struck by lightning, then saved by police officer
WOODBRIDGE, N.J. -- There were terrifying moments on Wednesday when a man was struck by lightning in the middle of a soccer field in New Jersey.
As tragic as the experience was, officials say the man was actually lucky that the responding police officer happened to know CPR and saved his life.
The dramatic video shows the moment a bolt of lightning fires down from the sky, striking 39-year-old town employee Eric Baumgartner at Iselin Middle School in Woodbridge at around 12:15 p.m.
"I was in my living room. I saw the lightning first. It was like a bomb. Then I look out the window and the guy is right in the middle. He went down," witness Hay Heday said.
Baumgartner was painting lines on the practice soccer field, hoping to finish before the rain came, when he was struck.
"He got struck in the foot. From what I was told, it went in on one foot and came out the other," said Ray Deliman, a friend of Baumgartner's.
Witnesses told CBS2 they assumed the worst.
"He's lying flat on the ground. We called the police, police did come, and that guy no moving," Jesse Singh said.
"As of right now, I have every reason to believe R.J. McPartland saved Eric Baumgartner's life," Woodbridge Mayor John McCormick said.
Responding Police Officer McPartland is a former firefighter. The three-year veteran and certified EMT was just leaving his shift at the nearby high school.
He said he jumped into action when he realized Baumgartner didn't have a pulse.
"We were able to see some burn marks appeared on his hands, so that was how we were able to determine what happened. And we knew we needed to start compressions to get his heart started again," McPartland said. "We were trying to talk to him the whole time. Once we were in the ambulance and did he get a pulse back, he did slowly begin to regain consciousness.
"It's what we're trained to do. Luckily, we are trained in that and were able to provide that to someone who needs it," McPartland added.
Watch Jessica Moore's report
Baumgartner's comrades at American Legion Post 87 say he is a Coast Guard veteran and married father to two young boys.
"He remembers doing his job and then remembers waking up in the ambulance, had no idea what happened," Deliman said.
"This is freaky. This is really very freaky," neighbor Mary Balint said. "He's very lucky, very lucky that everybody was where they should have been when they should have been."
"I think it's amazing. You hear stories, guy survived by lightning and stuff like that, but you never know until it's your turn," Deliman said. "We just hope he pulls through. We need him here, he's a good guy."
Baumgartner has been a town employee for 18 years.
At last check, he was in stable condition at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the odds of being struck by lightning every year are less than 1 in 1 million but almost 90% of victims survive. The CDC also says New Jersey is among the top states in the country to have the most lightning deaths and injuries.