On Sunday, Patrick Dispoto, 59, and his girlfriend Ruth Fussell were at Seaside Park Beach when they learned of an approaching storm. The couple headed to their truck but Dispoto decided to go back to the beach and let others know of the bad weather headed their way.
"He said, 'I'll be right back.' Russell told WABC. "I said, 'You have no business going back.' And he says, 'I'm just going to warn these kids because the sky is going to open. I'm just going to warn these kids – one minute.'"
Dispoto didn't return to his truck. When Russell found him, he had been struck by lightning and was unconscious. Emergency responders gave him CPR and took him to the hospital where he died.
This week, Seaside Park installed the Strike Guard Lightning Detection System that "monitors cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning within a user-set range" to alert people nearby. Apparently, the installation was planned before Dispoto's death.
