A trucker dad has tragically died after being struck by lightning outside the gas station. His death marks the first recorded fatality from lightning this year.
41-year-old Peter Garamone sadly died from his injuries. He had been walking to his vehicle at the Kwik Trip gas station in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. That's when witnesses reported the "loudest thunderbolt" they'd ever heard. Lightning struck the truck dad, according to CBS58.
He had been hauling goods in his truck as part of his job. Before he died, he managed to call the emergency responders and report that lightning struck him. Sadly, he later passed away from his injuries.
"Our caller believes he was possibly struck by lightning," a dispatcher said in audio obtained by CBS58.
Lightning Strike
Another witness also called 911. They reported that he had stopped breathing. Authorities found evidence "consistent with a lightning strike."
First responders found the trucker unresponsive. Later, he was rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, a witness, Beau Snowden, said the lightning bolt hit his house.
"It was the loudest thunderbolt we ever heard," he said. "You got to watch out for these storms. It's really dangerous."
The trucker leaves behind a wife and son. His father had just finished chemotherapy a week prior.
"I keep hoping I will wake up and find this is a bad dream, but I know it isn't," Jim wrote on Facebook, announcing his son's death. "This is a lesson to all of us to hug those we love a bit tighter."
It's the first lightning fatality of the year. 21 people died last year from strikes.
