HARDYSTON, N.J. – A young man died Monday, nearly a week after he was struck by lightning while playing on a New Jersey golf course.
Simon Mariani, 28, of Franklin Lakes was golfing at Ballyowen Golf Course when a storm passed through and produced a lightning strike that hit Mariani, according to a local report.
Footage shot by Brian Delia, another golfer on the course that day, shows dark gray clouds hovering over the Ballyowen.
Storm clouds over Ballyowen.
(Brian Delia Photography via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Delia also shared pictures of the site where lightning struck, as evidenced by burn marks that stretched across the green like varicose veins.
“We were playing in Ironman 2025 at Ballyowen and a guy just got struck by lightning in front of us,” Delia wrote on Facebook. “Police came quick, golfers already started CPR.”
Burn scars on the golf course from the lightning strike.
(Brian Delia Photography via Storyful / FOX Weather)
LIGHTNING STRIKE AT NEW JERSEY ARCHERY RANGE KILLS 1, INJURES 13 OTHERS
The chances of being struck by lightning in any given year is 1 in 1.43 million, or 1 in 18,000 in an average lifetime, according to the National Lightning Safety Council (NLSC).
The NLSC said about 12 people, including Mariani, have died from lightning strikes so far this year.
