Man dies 3 days after lightning strike on Florida beach

CLEARWATER, Fla. – A Florida man struck by lightning over the weekend has died.

Clearwater police say 32-year-old Garry Perks of New Port Richey died on Wednesday, three days after he and seven other people were injured by a lightning strike on Clearwater Beach.

Witnesses said people were moving off the beach when the lightning struck. The reports say people at a nearby restaurant dragged the injured indoors and began administering first aid as rain poured down.

According to the National Weather Service, Perks is the 10th person to die in the U.S. this year from a lightning strike, and the second in Florida. Twenty died last year, including seven in Florida.