California hiker, 37, is THIRD to be struck by lightning and killed in the US in a week after taking cover under tree during storm
- Nicholas Torchia was hiking the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada near Fresno
- Torchia tried to shelter from a storm under a tree that was struck by lightning
- He was administered CPR by a doctor and a nurse for three hours before he died
- His body was later recovered by a California Highway Patrol helicopter
- He becomes the third person to die from lightning strike in less than a week
A man died after he was struck by lightning when hiking a trail in the Northern California mountains as he tried to take cover during a storm on Friday.
Nicholas Torchia, 37, of Fresno, California, is the third American to die after being struck by lightning in a week.
Torchia was electrocuted near the roadless and remote Muir Trail Ranch, a spot for hikers on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada, the Fresno Bee reported.
He had tried to shelter from a thunderstorm by leaning against a tree before it was struck by a lightning bolt.
He fell to the ground and said that he wasn't feeling well to fellow hikers before falling unconscious.
His death comes a week after Walker Bethune and Brent Jerome died after separate strikes in Florida.
It is believed that Torchia was hiking the John Muir Trail when he got caught in the thunderstorm
The Fresno County Sheriff's Office was alerted of a lightning accident around 2pm and Torchia's body was recovered around 6pm by a California Highway Petrol helicopter
Torchia was administered CPR by a doctor and nurse who happened to be on the trail but died after three hours of them attempting to revive him.
Tony Botti, Fresno County sheriff's spokesman, said that the Sheriff's Office received a call about the incident around 2.20pm.
Torchia's body was recovered by a California Highway Patrol helicopter around 6pm, when it was safe to fly, and the Fresno County Coroner's Office later ruled his death to be electrocution caused by lightning.
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It is the latest in a string of deadly lightning strikes in the US.
Five people were struck by lightning on beaches in Southwest Florida over just a 10-day span in July, the Naples Daily News reported.
Among them was Walker Bethune, 17, who was just a few feet away from his family on Tigertail Beach on Marco Island when he was struck on July 17. Bethune, of Macon, Ga., suffered swelling on the brain and died last Wednesday.
Police said they arrived on the scene at 3.51pm, shortly after the lightning strike, and saw Bethune's father, David, administering CPR on his son, who was unresponsive.
They were able to successfully revive him on the scene.
He was rushed to a local hospital in nearby Naples and then airlifted to another hospital in Miami.
But he passed away 11 days after the lightning strike, family said.
Hikers on the John Muir Trail often stop at the Muir Trail Ranch to resupply
In total, six people have been killed by lightning in the US this year, according to the National Weather Service - including Torchia, Bethune, and Jerome.
On June 12, a 15-year-old girl visiting with her family from Alabama was killed by lightning while swimming in the waters off of Tybee Island, Georgia.
She was hit around 2.30pm that Saturday, and rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
A 70-year-old man was killed on a golf course in Chester County, New Jersey on June 9th.
And a 71-year-old man was killed on a golf course in Taylor, Pennsylvania on July 16th.
Over the past decade, deaths from lightning strikes in the US ranged from 16 in 2017 to 40 in 2016. Last year, there were 17 fatalities.
The National Weather Service advises that running to a building or hard topped vehicle is the most effective way to escape lightning as no place outdoors is safe during a storm.
Seventeen people died from lightning incidents in the US in 2020, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Lt. Kathy Curtice, in charge of the sheriff's Search and Rescue team in Fresno, also advised people to drop down to lower ground and stay away from objects that can conduct electricity if they get caught in a thunderstorm.
