Jun 9, 2009 7:39 am US/Eastern
Lawn Care Worker Killed By Lightning
CORAL SPRINGS (CBS4) ―
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Dessalines Oleus is the 53-year-old lawn care worker who died in Coral Springs after lightning struck him.
CBS
A lawn care worker was killed by a bolt of lightning Monday afternoon while he was working in Coral Springs.
Witnesses told
CBS4 that Pompano Beach resident Dessalines Oleus, 53, was using a weed whacker in front of a condo complex on the 7800 block of NW 40th Street around 2 p.m. when he was struck. Shanyda Romero said she was inside her home with her kids when her apartment lit up with red and blue light. When she walked outside she saw Oleus lying on the ground. She tried to help him but she said it was too late.
She described the gruesome sight.
"I stood over him. He literally had no teeth," said Romero. "Everything was black. Blood was coming out of his mouth and his eyes were open, and the hat that [he] was wearing was literally in shreds. It was completely in shreds and he [was] still holding the machine he was holding the machine he was using."
Oleus leaves behind a wife, three children and a grandchild on the way. Oleus' son, Jeanfenel, said his father worked hard to provide for his family.
"He's really a good guy and he does to everything to help his family," Jeanfenel said. "We have nobody to blame for it. It's Mother Nature. What can you do about it?"
Jean Paul Christopher, who owns the landscaping company Oleus worked for, said he was working with him Monday afternoon. Christopher said he was just about to tell Oleus to stop working because of the bad weather but his warning was too late.
Christopher said Oleus was like a father to him.
"When I try to go up front I see him laying down. When I try to turn him over I keep calling but...," Christopher said, as his voice trailed off.
Emergency officials say there's a lesson in all of this: always be aware of the weather situation around you and seek cover in a storm. Even if the storm is far away, a bolt of lightning can travel 10 miles from where it's raining. Florida is the lightning capital of the U.S.
Click here to read more tips on how to protect yourself.
CBS4 reporter Carey Codd contributed to this report
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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