Authorities Identify Denver Man Who Died After Lightning Strike

Authorities Identify Denver Man Who Died After Lightning Strike
A lightning strike in a file photo. (Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images)

Authorities have identified the Denver man who died after he was struck by lightning while hiking on a mountain.

The Daily Camera reported on July 17 that the Boulder County Coroner’s Office identified the 36-year-old man as Peter Jornroth.

The Denver Post reported on July 14 that Jornroth died, while his 37-year-old wife sustained non-life threatening injuries in Bear Peak on Sunday.

The woman’s non-life threatening injuries came as a result of the ancillary electrical current from the strike that hit her husband, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials say a call was made to 911 around 1 p.m. notifying authorities Jornroth was unconscious and not breathing and that a passerby had started CPR.

Rescue personnel arrived and found the injured couple about a quarter-mile up from the Bear Creek trailhead 37 miles northwest of Denver.

Officials say he was airlifted to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

“The rescue operation took about two hours and involved the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, Rocky Mountain Fire Protection District, Rocky Mountain Rescue, Boulder County Parks and Open Space, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, AMR Ambulance and the Boulder Fire Department,” the Daily Camera reported.

Authorities say an initial investigation at the scene suggested Jornroth received a direct lightning strike to his upper body.

Similar Incident

In a similar story, authorities say lightning struck at a popular river gathering spot in South Carolina on Independence Day, killing a man and injuring as many as a dozen other people.

Resident Edward Williams tells WCSC-TV that a group of people had been boating on the Black River near Lawshe Plantation and had come ashore to grill pork chops when lightning struck a nearby tree. Shortly afterward, someone came banging on his door.

“It was a little kid in a panic that said a bunch of people got struck by lightning and he wanted me to call 911,” he told WPDE-TV.

The spot is remote, and pouring rain and unpaved back roads made it difficult to reach.

WPDE reported that three people were taken to a hospital, and one died shortly thereafter. He was identified as Ryan Gamble, 44, of Andrews, the TV station said, quoting Georgetown County Deputy Coroner Chase Ridgeway. The other two had minor injuries and were being held for observation, the station said.

“We were just sitting in the river waiting for the storm to blow over,” survivor Joseph Dalzell told the station. “The lightning hit the tree and ran through all of us.”

Asked what it felt like, survivor Billie Camlin replied, “Like a shock through your body. Indescribable.”

Camlin said everyone who was affected belonged to one group of family and friends, ranging in age from 9 to 46.

Georgetown County Emergency Manager Sam Hodge says the lightning struck a spot along the river known for its bar and beach.

NTD News staff contributed to this article.

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