The conditions of two North Carolina teenagers hurt after a lightning strike at Sand Key have improved.
- Lightning strike happened Tuesday on Gulf Boulevard
- 2 teens hospitalized
- 1 of the victims will be released from hospital Thursday
Tampa General Hospital said Cameron Poimboeuf, 15, of Charlotte, N.C., was in fair condition Thursday morning and remained at the hospital. Jansen M. Tabor, 18, of Matthews, N.C., is in good condition and was scheduled to go home later Thursday.
The incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 1200 block of Gulf Boulevard, in front of Lighthouse Towers.
Poimboeuf was visiting the area with his girlfriend's family, officials said. Tabor told police that the two were walking on the beach when the storm rolled in. As the rain began, they made a dash for shelter, he said.
The next thing that Tabor knew, he woke up on the sand after the lightning strike.
Cassandra Thomas, a 31-year-old pediatric nurse visiting the area from Pennsylvania, was staying at the Lighthouse Towers on the 16th floor.
"(I) heard the thunder and I saw the lightning strike," she said.
“I saw one boy lying flat on his belly," she said. "Another kid is sitting there and I’m yelling, 'Are you OK? Are you OK?' And the kids said, 'No, help.'”
Thomas said one of the victims had a pulse and blood pressure, but the other victim couldn't move his legs.
"I’ve never heard thunder like that, never," she said. "It just was pink lightning that just came down and crashed, and the whole ground lit up."
Witness Joe Hertzic said the two victims were "running like crazy as fast as they could" to escape the scene.