A Sunday afternoon in South Florida turned tragic when a lightning strike killed 31-year-old Kenya Glasgow and her 2-year-old daughter, Kennedi, in a Margate neighborhood.
Video
According to ABC News, the Margate Police Department and Margate Fire Rescue responded to a 911 call at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 23, after two people were reportedly struck by lightning and found lying on a sidewalk. The case puts a devastating face on lightning strike deaths, which remain relatively uncommon in the United States but continue to claim lives every year.Police said Glasgow and her daughter appeared to have just exited a vehicle when the lightning hit. According to ABC News, emergency personnel immediately performed CPR and other lifesaving measures before both victims were taken to separate hospitals. Glasgow was transported to North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach, while her daughter was taken with a police escort to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. Authorities said both were pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
Witness Prince Moody told ABC News affiliate WSVN that he rushed outside after noticing an orange glow through his window and hearing from his son that someone had been struck. Moody attempted to help while emergency crews were being contacted.
“Very traumatic scene,” Moody said. “I offered aid as much as I could, calmed the family down, and I started praying. I called 911 immediately.”
Additional reporting from Local 10 News identified the little girl as Kennedi and revealed that the family had arrived home as a storm was approaching. According to the station, Glasgow’s husband said the family was trying to get the children inside as the rain intensified. He survived after feeling electricity from the strike through the ground. Kennedi’s twin sister, Kensli, also survived. Margate police said the deaths remain under investigation.
While a fatal strike can seem extraordinarily rare, lightning strike deaths occur every year across the country. The National Weather Service currently estimates that lightning kills about 20 people in the United States annually and injures hundreds more. The agency also warns that some survivors experience lasting neurological damage.
A separate analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 444 lightning strike deaths in the United States between 2006 and 2021, averaging about 28 deaths per year during that period. The CDC says nearly 90 percent of people struck by lightning survive, while the odds of an individual being struck during any single year are less than one in a million.
The worldwide number is much harder to determine. A NASA training resource on lightning hazards cites an estimate of approximately 24,000 lightning fatalities worldwide each year, along with roughly ten times as many injuries. That figure should be treated as an estimate rather than an exact annual count because global reporting of lightning strike deaths remains incomplete.
A 2023 global lightning casualty study by researcher Ronald L. Holle found that the widely cited 24,000 figure originated from an estimate based partly on populations living in areas considered especially vulnerable to lightning. The study said published national data from 30 countries documented an average of 3,806 deaths per year, but researchers believe that figure substantially undercounts the true toll because many countries do not maintain complete lightning fatality records.
Florida carries an especially high risk. According to the CDC, Florida is considered the nation’s lightning capital and has recorded more than 2,000 lightning injuries over the past 50 years. The agency says Florida and Texas have historically recorded some of the largest numbers of lightning-related deaths, while most fatalities happen during the summer. Two out of every three lightning deaths occur between noon and 6 p.m., according to CDC data, placing afternoon storms among the most dangerous periods.
The Margate tragedy also reinforces why lightning safety guidance emphasizes moving indoors as soon as thunder becomes audible. The National Weather Service says a substantial enclosed building or hard-topped vehicle offers the safest protection during a thunderstorm. The CDC also stresses that someone struck by lightning does not retain an electrical charge, meaning it is safe for others to touch the victim, call 911, and immediately begin appropriate first aid or CPR when needed.
