South Florida lightning strike kills mother, 2-year-old daughter during Sunday thunderstorm, Margate police say
A lightning strike in Margate has claimed the lives of a mother and her 2-year-old daughter as thunderstorms moved across South Florida on Sunday, according to police.
According to investigators, Margate police and Margate Fire Rescue responded to reports of two people who had been struck by lightning and were lying on a sidewalk in the area of 7941 Northwest 1st St. in Margate around 2:30 p.m.
A father that CBS News Miami spoke with said he had just finished rushing his own family inside when he heard loud thunder and saw an orange glow. That's when he said his son told him that someone had been struck by lightning outside.
My son, now, said to me, 'Hey, Dad. I think somebody got hit. There's a lady on the floor,'" Prince Moody said. "And I'm like, 'What? No way. Stop, man.' And he said, 'No, look.' And I looked out my window, and I saw a lady on the floor."
Moody said he rushed across the street to try and help.
"As I get closer, there's also a toddler lying a couple of feet from the mother," Moody said. "Charred. It's a scene that I never want to see again."
When first responders arrived at the scene, they immediately began rendering aid to the victims, including CPR.
The mother, who was identified as 31-year-old Kenya Glashow, was transported to North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach, and the 2-year-old girl was rushed to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.
Both were pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.
The incident remains under investigation by the Margate Police Department.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story claimed that a 40-year-old mother and her 2-year-old son were killed in Sunday's lightning strike. CBS News Miami worked to confirm with detectives and found out that the child was actually female and the mother appears to be approximately 31 years old. Initial details were based on information from the 911 call and dispatch notes.