By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
[Editor’s note: This story contains updated information from Gateway National Park at 11:30 a.m.]
A man who was struck by lightning in a brief, violent storm on Sandy Hook was resuscitated after prolonged lifesaving efforts late Monday afternoon, authorities said.
An earlier version of this report on redbankgreen said the victim had died.
The unidentified man was at Beach B on the ocean side of the peninsula when he was hit by lightning at about 5:53 p.m., according to Gateway National Park spokesman John Warren.
Family members had tried unsuccessfully to revive the victim, but park emergency personnel were able to, Warren said.
“He was alive when he left Sandy Hook” in a Sea Bright First Aid ambulance, which took him to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, Warren said. “I believe our employees made that possible.”
The victim’s name and condition were not immediately available Tuesday morning. He was in critical condition when he left the park, Warren said.
The man, a 32-year-old from Passaic, was still in Monmouth Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit as of this morning, Warren said.
Warren said that contrary to an early report that two people were struck, the victim was the only one hit. Warren was also unable to confirm reports that the victim was in the ocean when he was hit.
Among those responding were Gateway law enforcement rangers, National Parks Service firefighters, EMTs and lifeguards, he said.
The sudden lightning storm briefly knocked out power to parts of Rumson and Sea Bright.
Three people were struck by lightning on Sandy Hook around this time three years ago. One man from Elizabeth died as a result of the injuries sustained in the strike.
