Florida teen who was struck by lightning while hunting with her dad has died
A teenage girl who was struck by lightning while hunting with her father this week died on Thursday, officials said.
Baylee Holbrook, 16, and her dad were hit after lightning struck a tree late Tuesday afternoon, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said. Holbrook's dad lost consciousness. When he woke up, Holbrook wasn't breathing and was in critical condition.
He called 911 and started providing CPR as emergency personnel responded, officials said. The teen was rushed to a hospital for additional treatment.
"She has proven a fighter and our prayers extend to her, her family and friends," the sheriff's office wrote in a Wednesday post on Facebook.
Students gathered at Palatka Junior-Senior High School on Wednesday to pray for Holbrook.
The teen died at the hospital on Thursday morning, the sheriff's office said. She was surrounded by family.
"We are in prayer for the Holbrook family and reflecting as well as sharing," Trinity Baptist Church posted on social media on Thursday after the teen's death.
Holbrook was a varsity cheerleader, CBS affiliate WJAX-TV reported. At a Wednesday prayer rally, friends, teammates and family described Holbrook as being hilarious with a smile that could light up a room. They said the teen loved to hunt, fish and be outdoors.
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office noted there had been an increase in lightning strikes in the area this week.
"Storms can come quickly and lightning can strike up to 10 miles away from any rainfall," the sheriff's office warned.
Records shows that about 20 people are killed in lightning strikes across the country each year, while hundreds more are injured, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Of the 19 deaths reported through September of last year in connection with lightning strikes, four were reported in Florida.
In April, a boat captain was killed in a lightning strike that hit his vessel off the central Florida coast near Orlando.
