Georgia Boy, 11, Struck By Lightning At Daytona Beach, Listed In Serious Condition

An 11-year-old Georgia boy is lucky to be alive after being struck by a random bolt of lightning while visiting Daytona Beach Shores. Witnesses claim that the lightning bolt came out of nowhere and was not accompanied by the usual thunder. Typical Florida spring storms were present in the area, but lightning was not expected to be an issue as the boy played on the beach with his father. A surf instructor saw the lightning strike the boy and hurried to administer CPR with the aid of his assistant.

WESH TV reported on the lightning strike, sharing an interview with LJ Kuzmovich, who owns the Pure Life Surf School. Kuzmovich stated that no one expected a lightning strike in the area and the weather did not seem out of the ordinary for a spring Florida day. When he saw the lightning strike the young boy, revealed to be named Bowden Tyree, he grabbed his assistant and rushed to perform CPR.

“He wasn’t breathing, and then all of a sudden after our compressions, he started breathing, and it was a huge sigh of relief,”

Linda Lam, of the Weather Channel, stated that there was as a storm reported for the area, although witnesses reported that the storm was 20 miles south of the beach. Lam reinforced that the storm was typical for Florida.

“Thunderstorms developed in the area after 12 p.m. on Tuesday and lightning was detected around 1 p.m. The thunderstorms that developed were typical afternoon storms that are seen in Florida during the late spring and summer.”

David Eaton was working construction nearby and heard a loud bang when the lightning struck Bowden.

“You just see it come flashing out, but all we heard was a loud bang, and I thought it was the neighbor’s house. He got struck by lightning. I could tell because he was already red on top of the head and a little bit of the hair was gone.”

Bowden is currently in the hospital, labeled as being in serious condition. His parents shared that he is recovering from a high fever and has started to move the right side of his body.

Officials hope the incident will serve as a grim reminder that playing outside in a thunderstorm, regardless of its intensity, is very dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.

[Photo by Dan Kitwood / Getty Images News]