Death of 29-year-old considered unusual because the lightning ‘came from a storm several miles away’
A newlywed man visiting Florida on his honeymoon recently died after reportedly being struck by lightning while standing in shallow water with a blue sky over him.
The death of Jake Rosencranz, 29, in New Smyrna Beach was considered unusual because it is “rare” for someone to be struck by lightning from a storm that is several miles away, local beach safety director Tammy Malphurs told Florida news outlet WKMG. Though that occasionally happens, Rosencranz, of Colorado, was the first person to be killed by lightning in Florida in 2025.
His death nonetheless served as a grim reminder that Florida in 2024 led the US in both lightning fatalities (12) and strikes per square mile (76), according to a report from the environmental technology provider AEM.
Rosencranz had been in New Smyrna Beach with his wife, Leah, on a delayed honeymoon, local sheriff Mike Chitwood said on a social media post. While standing in ankle-deep water under clear skies, lightning struck him at about 12.30pm on 20 June, Malphurs’s agency reportedly said.
