As we enter Lightning Safety Awareness Week, lightning safety experts stress that being outside anywhere is a dangerous risk when lightning is in the area.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — A New Jersey golfer was critically injured when he was struck by lightning Sunday — just a month after another golfer was killed by a lightning strike in the state.
Sunday’s incident happened between the 2nd and 16th holes at the Pinch Brook Golf Course in Florham Park around 6:18 p.m., according to police there.
Officers arrived to find bystanders and a retired Morris County Sheriff’s Office captain performing CPR on the victim. The group continued CPR efforts until medics arrived and rushed the 38-year-old man to a local hospital, where he was later transferred to another medical facility.
LIGHTNING SAFETY: WHEN THUNDER ROARS, EVEN TAKING OUT THE TRASH CAN TURN DEADLY
The extent of his injuries wasn’t known, but police said he was in critical condition when transported to the other hospital.
The injury comes on the heels of a 28-year-old golfer who was struck and eventually killed by a lightning bolt in New Jersey last month.
Police say Simon Mariani, 28, of Franklin Lakes was golfing at Ballyowen Golf Course when a storm passed through and produced a lightning strike that hit Mariani, according to a local report.
Burn scars on the golf course from the lightning strike.
(Brian Delia Photography via Storyful / FOX Weather)
The chances of being struck by lightning in any given year is 1 in 1.43 million, or 1 in 18,000 in an average lifetime, according to the National Lightning Safety Council (NLSC).
The NLSC said 13 people, including Mariani, have died from lightning strikes so far this year. A 41-year-old man died while golfing in Texas in June, according to the NLSC.
Overall, 16 people have died while golfing since 2006the NLSC says.
