Firefighters in Tampa say a man was hospitalized after apparently being struck by lightning during this afternoon’s storms.
A Tampa Fire Rescue spokesperson says TFR received a call that someone on a personal watercraft was struck by a bolt near the Davis Island Yacht Club around 3:40 p.m. When paramedics arrived, bystanders had helped the man from the water. "We saw the jet-skiier coming to the boat ramp over here probably 200 yards off from the club. Looked to me to be a direct lightning strike. I saw the bolt and it looked to me like it directly impacted the victim. He slouched over the jet ski right away, so we went out and got him," a witness told FOX 13 News.
The man was not initially responsive. "He was wearing his life jacket, that probably saved his life," the witness continued ."We pulled him right in the boat. My partner administered first air and CPR."
Paramedics took the victim to nearby Tampa General Hospital.