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A 29-year-old newlywed on his honeymoon was killed by a freak weather strike while standing in ankle-deep water.
The freak tragedy unfolded as the Colorado man stood near the shore in what officials described as a “rare” and deadly lightning strike.
The incident occurred on Florida’s east coast while the man was visiting New Smyrna Beach with his wife.
Jake Rosencranz had been on a delayed honeymoon when lightning hit him around 12:30 pm on Friday, officials confirmed.
He was in ankle-deep water near the Avenue beach access when the bolt struck.
Lifeguards raced to the scene and began CPR on Rosencranz immediately.
“Lifeguards immediately initiated CPR and performed life-saving measures,” said Beach Safety Director Tammy Malphurs.
Rosencranz was rushed to Halifax Health Hospital in Daytona Beach in critical condition.
He died the next morning in the ICU.
Malphurs said the lightning came from a storm that was about four miles away, not directly overhead.
She told Headline Surfer it was a “rare tragedy, but all too real.”
“I’ve seen about six or seven people die on the beach from lightning strikes,” Malphurs said in a separate interview.
The National Weather Service labels lightning strikes that occur far from a storm as “blue sky lightning.” These strikes can reach up to 20 miles from the storm’s core.
County Sheriff Mike Chitwood expressed his sorrow over the devastating loss of a young man, who was on a belated honeymoon with his wife. At the age of 29, he had many more anniversaries ahead with her. Sheriff Chitwood shared these sentiments in a Facebook post.
“Sending heartfelt sympathies to this young woman from the Volusia County community, who desperately wished that our lifeguards, EMS team, and hospital staff could bring him back to her,” he added.
The terrifying bolt wasn’t the only lightning strike reported that day.
City officials said two golfers in New Smyrna Beach were also indirectly struck on Friday afternoon.
They were shocked when lightning hit an object nearby, but neither was seriously injured.
What causes lightning?
Here’s everything you need to know…
- Lightning is a big flash or bolt of electricity caused by a thunderstorm
- They’re thought to kill between 75 to 100 unlucky souls every year
- Strikes are actually formed by frozen raindrops in the sky
- Within a thunderclap, bits of ice bump into one another, forming an electrical charge
- After a while, the whole cloud fills up with electrical charges
- These split into negatively charged electrons at the bottom of the cloud and positively charged protons at the top
- Eventually, the cloud discharges by sending a bolt of current to the ground
Saturday’s incident marked Florida’s first lightning death of the year, and the fourth in the US in 2025.
All four victims this year were men, the weather service said.
Two were fishing from boats in North Carolina and Mississippi, and one died on a Texas golf course.
Florida has historically had the highest number of fatal lightning strikes in the country.
In 2024, five out of the nation’s 12 lightning-related deaths occurred in the Sunshine State.
While Texas records the most lightning strikes overall, Florida has the highest density of lightning in the country.
That means Florida has more strikes per square kilometer than any other state, according to a 2024 report by Vaisala.
Other Gulf Coast states like Louisiana and Mississippi also see high lightning activity.
Experts say geography, frequent thunderstorms, and warm climate all contribute to the state’s lightning risk.
City Spokesperson Ava Hanner told The Independent that people should take precautions “even if the sky looks clear.”
“If you can hear thunder, you’re close enough to be struck by lightning,” Hanner advised.
