My Brother Juan on the News

MELBOURNE BEACH -- According to the Brevard County Sheriffs Office, At the beach, the sheriff's department said, a father, 54-year-old Frank Paxton, is dead and his adult son is among several injured after a lightning bolt on the beach. Paxton was declared dead at 4:15 p.m. at Holmes Regional Medical Center.

His wife and son are being treated for minor burns.

According to early reports, the lightning strike occurred on the beach during a fast moving thunderstorm moving inland from the ocean. It was near state Road A1A and Ocean Boulevard about 4 p.m. Tuesday.

One witness about 50 feet from the accident said he could feel static electricity from the discharge.

"I felt like somebody hit me with a rock in the back of the head," said Juan Gray, a witness. "My other son felt it and everybody booked. I grabbed the baby and was just running. When I came back to get some of the stuff we had left the guy was just laid out in the dirt."

Brevard County Fire Rescue performed CPR on one victim, according to the National Weather Service.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Lightning Strike
• Melbourne Beach
• Juan Grau