Couple struck by lightning while walking on popular Florida trail, report says

Two people were rushed to a Central Florida hospital on Wednesday evening after they were possibly struck by lightning while walking on a popular trail west of Orlando, according to reports.

According to a report from WESH, first responders rushed to West Orange Trail in Winter Garden just before 7:30 p.m. after receiving a 911 call reporting the lightning strike and that two people were on the ground, one of whom wasn't breathing.

In the 911 call, the person can be heard saying that people needed help after thinking they were struck, according to WESH. In addition, the unidentified male victim was bleeding from his face after the incident.

The woman who was struck wasn't breathing, and the dispatcher reportedly gave the caller instructions on how to perform CPR until help could arrive, the report continued.

Minutes after the 911 call was made, first responders arrived at the scene and rushed the two people to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Their identities or conditions have not been released.

Several people injured, killed by lightning in Florida this year

Several people in Florida have been injured or killed by lightning strikes in 2026.

Most recently, a deputy with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office was struck by lightning while he was sitting in his car in Doral. He was rushed to a South Florida hospital and is recovering.

Last week, a mother and her 2-year-old daughter were struck by lightning and killed as they were running into their Margate home during a powerful thunderstorm.

Last Saturday, a man riding a personal watercraft died after a lightning strike near Sarasota. A Boynton Beach boy was struck by lightning while he was playing soccer, and a mother was struck by lightning inside her home while holding her baby.

"We get 40 million lightning strikes across the country every year," CBS News Miami NEXT Weather meteorologist Scott Withers said. "And 1.2 million of them happen right here in Florida."

Florida has historically been the state that receives the most lightning strikes every year, with Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas making the list.

"Unfortunately, we get about seven deaths or fatalities each year by lightning strikes," Withers said. "It is a significant thing."