Current:Home > MarketsVideo shows man struck by lightning in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, then saved by police officer-InfoLens
Video shows man struck by lightning in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, then saved by police officer
View Date:2024-12-23 15:38:22
A man was struck by lightning on a New Jersey soccer field, and officials credited a police officer with saving his life. Eric Baumgartner, 39, wanted to finish painting the lines on the field in Woodbridge Township before it started raining when the bolt of lightning hit him Wednesday afternoon, CBS New York reported.
Video footage from a resident's security camera shows the lightning bolt flashing down from a dark sky followed by a crack of thunder.
"It was like a bomb," Jay Heday, who lives near the field, told CBS New York. "Then I look out the window. The guy's right in the middle. He went down."
Officer R.J. McPartland was leaving his shift at a nearby high school when the lightning struck.
"I was in my car, and I did see a very large lightning strike, and, you know, I said to myself, 'Wow, that seemed really close,'" he told reporters during a news conference.
He responded to the field and started administering CPR.
"We were able to see, you know, some burn marks appeared on his hands, so that's how we were kind of able to determine what happened, and we knew that he just needed to, you know, start compressions to get his heart going again," McPartland said.
Baumgartner, a father of two boys who's been working for the town for 18 years, slowly regained consciousness as an ambulance rushed him to a hospital, McPartland said.
"We were trying to talk to him the whole time," the officer said.
One of Baumgartner's friends told CBS New York the Coast Guard veteran didn't have any memory of being hit by the lightning bolt.
"He remembers doing his job and then remembers waking up in the ambulance, had no idea what happened," Ray Deliman, acting commander of American Legion Post 87, told the station.
He's heard of people surviving lightning strikes before and hoped Baumgartner recovers from the ordeal.
"You never know until it's your turn," Deliman said. "We just hope he pulls through because we need him here ... He's a good guy."
About 20 people are killed in lightning strikes across the country each year, while hundreds more are injured, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- In:
- New Jersey
- Lightning
- Lightning Strike
Alex Sundby is a senior editor for CBSNews.com
TwitterveryGood! (57)
Related
- The NBA Cup is here. We ranked the best group stage games each night
- Biden sending aides to Detroit to address autoworkers strike, says ‘record profits’ should be shared
- How indigo, a largely forgotten crop, brings together South Carolina's past and present
- SZA Pulled Out of MTV VMAs Over This “Disrespectful” Move
- College football Week 12 expert picks for every Top 25 game include SEC showdowns
- Deal Alert: These Saks Off 5th Fashion, Beauty & Home Finds Start at $10
- TikToker Levi Jed Murphy Reveals Why He's Already Ready for His Fifth Round of Plastic Surgery
- 90 Day Fiancé's Loren Brovarnik Details Her Mommy Makeover Surgeries
- Man killed in Tuskegee University shooting in Alabama is identified. 16 others were hurt
- Last 3 men charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan governor found not guilty
Ranking
- Wicked's Ethan Slater Shares How Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Set the Tone on Set
- Family sues police after man was fatally shot by officers responding to wrong house
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet with Biden in U.S. next week
- University of Kentucky cancer center achieves highest designation from National Cancer Institute
- 3 Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib win $42M judgement against defense contractor
- Baby dies at day care in New York City, 3 other children hospitalized
- Biden set for busy week of foreign policy, including talks with Brazil, Israel and Ukraine leaders
- Birmingham church bombing survivor reflects on 60th anniversary of attack
Recommendation
-
Kentucky governor says investigators will determine what caused deadly Louisville factory explosion
-
Oops! I called my boss 'dude.' Career coaches weigh in on tricky workplace dilemmas
-
A look at notable impeachments in US history, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
-
Artifacts found in Israel were used by professional sorcerers in magical rituals 4 centuries ago
-
Wendi McLendon-Covey talks NBC sitcom 'St. Denis Medical' and hospital humor
-
Baby babble isn't just goo goo! And hearing 2 languages is better than one
-
Drake and SZA release first collab 'Slime You Out' ahead of Drake's new album: Listen
-
Man gets 15 years to life for killing commuter he shoved into moving train in unprovoked attack