A 16-year-old girl has died after she was struck by lightning while hunting with her father in Florida, officials say.
Baylee Holbrook and her father had been hunting on Tuesday when lightning “struck a tree, hitting them,” the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said.
Her father lost consciousness and when he awoke he found his daughter was not breathing.
He called 911 and began CPR, and the teen was transported to HCA Florida Putnam Hospital in Palatka, where she was stabilized enough to be taken to a trauma center. She had been listed in critical condition on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office said it learned that Baylee had “peacefully passed away” that morning surrounded by her family.
My dad died when I was 16 and that’s not great either.
But looking at that smile reminds me of my 1 year old daughter’s smile. I live to make her smile. I can’t imagine looking at that smile every day for 16 years and then one day I can’t.