Lightning strike after Packers-Buccaneers game at Florida stadium
Seven football fans injured in lightning strike after Packers-Buccaneers game at Florida stadium
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Sunday, December 21, 2014
Several football fans leaving the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa were hurt by a lightning blast following an afternoon game.
Seven people were hospitalized following the Tampa Buccaneers 20-3 loss against the Green Bay Packers after being injured during a lightning strike, Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Jason Penny told the Daily News.
It’s not known if the victims, who were both men and women between the ages of 20 to 40 years old, suffered a direct hit or were shocked by a nearby bolt.
“It was close by … knocked some people to the ground and kicked up some rocks and gravel,” Penny added.
One patient lost consciousness during the strike reported to 911 at 4:11 p.m., but woke up by the time medics arrived.
The strike about 200 feet from what Penny described as the “big flag” may have injured an additional four to five fans, he added, but those victims did not seek medical treatment from paramedics at the stadium.
The bolt apparently blasted a car, shattering its roof and injuring at least 11 people nearby.
“I never saw the streak. I just saw this huge flash,” Packers fan Bruce Kudick, of Sarasota, Fla. said. “It was like a bomb went off.”
Photos from the scene show several emergency vehicles that swarmed the north parking lot where victims had been injured during the strike.
The patients were taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital and are in stable conditon.
There have been no confirmed reports of fatalities.
Radar from the National Weather Service shows a large storm that passed through Tampa to the northeast during the late afternoon.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/people-struck-lightning-tampa-football-stadium-article-1.2052720