A 32-year-old man died after being struck by lightning near a solar field in Monroe Township, NJ. It’s the latest in a string of lightning incidents across the state this summer.
WEBDESK – SAMAN NOOR – NJNEWSLINE
A Deadly Strike in Monroe Township
A man has died following a reported lightning strike in Monroe Township, New Jersey, on Tuesday afternoon, according to police. At around 3 p.m., Monroe Police received a report of a man who had possibly been struck by lightning near a solar field on Hoffman Station Road.
First Responders Rush to the Scene
Police officers, along with Monroe Township EMS and paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, responded to the scene and found the man unconscious in the field. He was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was later pronounced deceased. The 32-year-old’s identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
An Active Investigation
Police say the incident remains under active investigation, and as of Wednesday morning, no additional information had been released. The reported strike occurred around the same time severe storms began rolling into New Jersey on Tuesday, bringing widespread power outages and severe flooding across parts of the state including a rescue involving a woman in a wheelchair caught in floodwaters.
Part of a Dangerous Summer Pattern
This isn’t the first lightning-related incident to hit New Jersey this summer. In Bergen County, a lightning strike set a Ridgewood building on fire Monday night. Before that, lightning sparked a house fire in East Windsor that left a home uninhabitable, and in Old Bridge, a condo was engulfed in a three-alarm fire after being struck by lightning.
A Summer of Extreme Weather
Tuesday’s fatal strike adds to a growing list of storm-related damage across the Garden State this season, as intense summer weather continues to bring flooding, fires and now a tragic death. Authorities have not yet released further details on the investigation into Tuesday’s incident.
