Franklin Lakes Man Struck By Lightning On North Jersey Golf Course

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A 28-year-old Franklin Lakes man was struck by lightning at a North Jersey golf course on Tuesday and helicoptered to the hospital, officials said.

First responders headed to the Ballyowen course at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg around 2 p.m. on Tuesday and found Simon Mariani on the ground, officials said.

First responders treated him, followed by paramedics with Atlantic Health and St Clare's, officials said. He was flown to Cooperman Barnabas Hospital in Livingston.

While lightning strikes are rare, a father of three was struck by lightning on a Texas golf course last month and died, according to news reports. And last month, a teenage boy was struck by lightning in Central Park.

The National Weather Service says:

• NO place outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area!!
• If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you.
• When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up.
• Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.

Indoor Lightning safety:

• Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity.
• Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets.
• Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.
• Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.

If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following actions may reduce your risk:

• Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks
• Never lie flat on the ground
• Never shelter under an isolated tree
• Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter
• Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water
• Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.)

For more on this story, read: Man Struck By Lightning On NJ Golf Course