Overview
- A lightning bolt struck a group of beachgoers in the Gulf off Fort Myers Beach on Friday, leaving one man dead and three others taken to hospitals for evaluation.
- Responders found four victims in the water and a bystander had begun CPR and used an automated external defibrillator before crews arrived; one person was pronounced dead at the scene and the coroner later removed the body.
- The Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District said deputies were dispatched to the 6500–6600 block of Estero Boulevard in the afternoon and the scene was cleared after initial treatment and transport.
- Officials said it remains unclear whether all four were directly struck or were injured by electricity traveling through the water, and investigators continue to review the circumstances of the strike.
- Local authorities reminded residents and visitors to seek immediate shelter at the first sound of thunder, stay out of the water, and wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunderclap as thunderstorms persist over the Fourth of July weekend.