Teen cheerleader struck by lightning while hunting with her dad dies | US News

A teenage cheerleader has died after being struck by lightning while hunting with her father.

Baylee Holbrook, 16, was hunting in Florida with her dad late afternoon Tuesday ‘when lightning struck a tree, hitting them’, stated the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

In an update on Thursday, the sheriff’s office wrote that Baylee ‘peacefully passed away this morning surrounded by her family’.

After the lightning strike, Baylee’s father lost consciousness and woke to find that his daughter was not breathing. He called 911 and administered CPR until deputies took over life-saving measures.

First responders rushed Baylee to the HCA Florida Putnam Hospital where she was stabilized enough to be transported to a trauma center and remained in critical condition.

The sheriff’s office on Wednesday wrote that the community was rallying for Baylee, who ‘has proven a fighter and our prayers extend to her, her family and friends’.

Students, faculty and members of the community and law enforcement agency gathered at the Palatka Junior-Senior High School flag pole to pray for Baylee’s life to saved.

In the update, the sheriff’s office wrote: ‘Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate a difficult road ahead of them and respect their privacy.’

Putnam County in northern Florida experienced an increase in lightning strikes over the past two days. The sheriff’s office warned residents that the forecast for a few more days included lightning, thunder and rain and that storms could approach quickly and lighting could strike up to 10 miles away from rainfall.

Baylee loved hunting, including with her friends, and was pictured smiling while carrying a compound bow and hoisting a large alligator’s head, News4JAX reported.

Holbrook was a varsity cheerleader and her team will wear her favorite color, green, and bows and ribbons to honor her at a game on Friday, the Daily Mail reported.

Her death comes a few months after a public works employee who was struck by lightning while painting lines on a soccer field at a New Jersey middle school was saved by a cop who performed CPR.

In a more tragic June 2022 incident, a woman and her two dogs were killed after being struck by a lightning bolt while walking along the San Gabriel Riverbed in the city of Pico Rivera in southeastern Los Angeles County.

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