Lightning Alert System Being Installed In Seaside Park Where Man Died Warning Kids

SEASIDE PARK, NJ — Seaside Park has started installation of a lightning alert system, a project that was in the works before a Manchester Township man was struck by lightning and killed on Sunday.

Patrick Dispoto, 59, was struck by lightning, authorities confirmed to News 12 New Jersey. He was found unresponsive on the beach after going to warn a group of kids about the threat of a severe storm that moved through Ocean County on Sunday evening.

Seaside Park Mayor John Peterson said the borough ordered the Strike Guard lightning warning system in April. The plans to purchase it had been in place for about a year. It is the same system in use on the ocean beaches in Brick Township, Toms River and Berkeley Township's South Seaside Park section.

The system can detect lightning and the conditions that produce it within a 20-mile radius and warn beachgoers — through strobe lights and sirens — to get off the beach and to safety when lightning is possible.

Dispoto had gone on the beach at J Street about 7 p.m. — after lifeguards were off-duty — to warn a group of kids about the storm, and was found unresponsive at 7:38 p.m., the Asbury Park Press reported. His girlfriend, Ruth, told News 12 New Jersey that he made sure she was safe before he went to warn the kids.

It's not known how old the kids were or whether they witnessed Dispoto being struck.

Dispoto, who lived in the Renaissance age-restricted community in Manchester, was a 1984 graduate of Brick Township High School.

Dispoto's children, Gianna and Cole, told CBS 2 New York that their father was the kind of person who always helped others.

"He was a hero definitely," Cole said.

"My father was someone who would always put others before himself," Gianna said.

Friends posting condolences said Dispoto was admired and respected by everyone.

"The greatest thing that can be said of Pat is that he was admired and respected by his competitors," a friend named D. Sinon wrote on the funeral homeLegacy.com website. "We all worked bidding NJ utility work, but we had the greatest good will amongst us because of Pat and others like him. It is a grievous loss to his family, friends, and coworkers."

Dominick Q wrote that he had been friends with Dispoto for more than 30 years.

"He always went out of his way to help everyone. It is no surprise he saved those teens because that is the way he was," Dominick wrote. "May he rest in peace in God's hands, he will be greatly missed."

The addition of the lightning detection system in Seaside Park will give most of the barrier island's beaches warning systems, which towns have been installing in the wake of the death of Keith Pinto of Toms River, who was working as a lifeguard for Berkeley Township in South Seaside Park when he was struck by lightning in August 2022.

Peterson said the system is costing Seaside Park $50,000.

Seaside Heights does not have the system.

"Our lifeguard supervisors actively monitor weather and lightning inside the main headquarters building," Seaside Heights borough administrator Christopher Vaz said.

Read more: Man Dies Trying To Get Kids Off Ocean County Beach As Thunderstorm Rolls In: Report