Latest news with #SimonJohnMariani
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
28-year-old dies after getting struck by lightning on golf course
A man struck by lightning while golfing at a tournament in New Jersey on Tuesday July 8, his died from his injuries, according to information from his family and local authorities. Simon John Mariani, 28, was struck during a competition at the Ballyowen Golf Club, a Hardyston Township Police spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY on Wednesday, July 16. The club is at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, a borough in Sussex County near the New York state line and about an hour drive from New York City. According to his obituary, Mariani died on Monday, July 14. Mariani lived in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, about 30 miles southeast of the golf course. Health officials: 4 dead after contracting 'flesh-eating bacteria' in Florida this year Reports: Golfer's father performed CPR on golf course Brian Delia, who witnessed the lightning strike while golfing, told WABC-TV the victim was about 300 yards in front of him when the bolt struck him. "We got up to the 14th hole... we saw lightning off in the distance for at least a half an hour before that," Delia told the outlet. Delia said two golfers and the victim's father ran to perform CPR on him before he was taken off the course in a golf cart and then transported by medical helicopter to a hospital. When reached by USA TODAY on Wednesday, July 16, Michelle Abate, spokesperson for Crystal Springs Resort, declined to comment about the incident citing the family's request not to release information. But WPVI-TVI reported the resort released a statement after the incident saying, 'course personnel sounded warning horns to clear the course and that the golf course had been operating under normal conditions before the storm, which developed rapidly.' "The safety of our guests is one of our top priorities," Abate told the outlet. "Our primary concern right now is the well-being of the guest and his family." Preacher arrest: Alabama pastor accused of leaving 5-year-old alone in car to drink in bar Golfer had a 'zest for life' A 2019 University of Notre Dame graduate, Mariani was, "driven, dedicated, smart, likeable and exceptionally talented," according to his obituary. At the time of his death, the obituary says, he worked as an associate at MTS Health Partners in New York City. "Outside of his professional life, Simon embraced all things family and enjoyed painting, photography and baking," his family wrote, adding he loved the New York Yankees, New Jersey Devils, New Jersey Jets, his college alma mater's football team and the Manchester United Football Club. "Simon's love for his family, career, the outdoors and sports reflected his zest for life," his obituary reads. "Simon had the heart of a Champion." Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man struck by lightning at New Jersey golf course dies Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Lightning seems to be striking, and even killing, lots of people this summer. What are the odds you'll get struck in your lifetime — and how can you minimize the risk?
They say lightning never strikes twice. But in recent days it seems to be striking again and again — to deadly effect. On Wednesday, the Norwegian Ski Federation announced that Olympic skier Audun Groenvold, a bronze medalist at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, died the previous evening after lightning struck him during 'a cabin trip.' Groenvold was 49 years old. Exactly one week earlier, a lightning bolt hit another athlete, Simon John Mariani, 28, while he was playing the 15th hole of New Jersey's Ballyowen Golf Course. Mariani 'unexpectedly' died of his injuries on Monday, according to an obituary his family posted online. Around the same time, two Georgia teens, Joey Nelson, 18, and Randall Martin III, 19, were struck and killed while fishing at a local pond. And five people were injured by lightning near Florida's St. Augustine Pier on Saturday afternoon. 'I felt the jolt through my body,' one of the victims, Stephanie Bayliss, told News 4 in Jacksonville. 'It was a horrible pain. Everything went blank. Everything was super loud. My ears hurt, and they were muffled. As soon as the second was over, I had a splitting headache. My wife turned around to me and said, 'I just got hit in the back of the head.' I said, 'I did too.'' Here's everything you need to know to stay safe from lightning this summer. Why are there so many lightning strikes (and deaths) right now? The first cause is seasonal. Lightning can occur at any time of year, but since it's typically associated with thunderstorms — and thunderstorms tend to occur when the air is warm, humid and unstable — the phenomenon is most prevalent during the spring and summer months, especially across the mid-Atlantic and Sunbelt regions of the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida is considered the 'lightning capital' of the country. Of course, people have to be around lightning to get hurt by it, and the risk is highest when they're outside (where about two-thirds of lightning injuries take place). The combination of these two factors — weather patterns and outdoor activity — makes July by far the deadliest month for lightning strikes, according to the CDC, with 147 recorded during that month from 2006 through 2021. June (99 deaths) and August (77 deaths) are a distant second and third, respectively. The other dynamic at play could be climate change. In 2014, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that every time the planet warms by 1°C, the number of annual lightning strikes is expected to increase by 12%. So 'for every two lightning strikes you had at the beginning of the century, we will have three at the end of the century,' one of the researchers explained at the time. Lightning fatalities in developing countries have been rising in recent years, likely as a result. What are the odds of getting struck by lightning in your lifetime? Low, but not zero. In 2019, the National Weather Service added the average number of annual U.S. lightning deaths over the previous decade (27) to the average number of annual lightning injuries (243) and calculated that each individual American has a 1 in 1.2 million chance of getting struck by lightning in any particular year — and a 1 in 15,300 chance of getting hit at some point during their life. Among the factors that can indicate an increased risk, according to the CDC: gender (males are four times more likely than females to be struck by lightning); age (the average age of a person struck by lightning is 37); time of day (two out of three lightning deaths occur between noon and 6 p.m.); recreation (from 2006 through 2021, leisure activities such as fishing, boating, playing sports and relaxing at the beach accounted for almost two-thirds of lightning deaths); and occupation (work-related activities contribute to about 18% of total lightning fatalities, with farmers and ranchers at highest risk). Almost 90% of all lightning strike victims survive, though, so even if a bolt does hit you, chances are you won't die. What happens to your body if you get struck by lightning? Getting struck by lightning delivers a massive electrical pulse to the body. That can short-circuit the heart and stop it from beating. When people die from lightning, they're actually dying from cardiac arrest. Lightning strike survivors typically experience a variety of short- and even long-term symptoms. Burns can affect skin and sometimes internal tissues — though brief heat exposure (lightning only lasts a fraction of a millisecond) can limit the damage. Eardrums may be ruptured. Cataracts often develop, sometimes as much as a year later. The nervous system can be affected as well, with victims reporting headache, nausea, stomach upset and other post-concussion types of symptoms; mild confusion, memory slowness or mental clouding; even dizziness and loss of balance. Longer term, survivors can have trouble with mental processing; some may experience personality change or depression. How to avoid getting hit by lightning About 40 million lightning strikes reach the ground each year in the U.S. To avoid getting hit, shelter in a substantial building or hard-topped vehicle with the windows rolled up at the first sign of a thunderstorm, and remain there until the storm has passed. Rain shelters, small sheds, balconies and porches are not safe. Don't use rain as your guide; lightning can strike 10 miles ahead of a storm and linger after a downpour has ended. Remain inside for 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder. If you can't get inside, do whatever you can to avoid tall structures (rooftops, scaffolding, utility poles, ladders, trees, large equipment) and conductive materials (metal, utility lines, water, water pipes, plumbing). And even if you can get inside, make sure to avoid metal, wiring and plumbing as well. When lightning strikes a home or building, it often follows the wiring or plumbing to ground. Don't touch anything that's plugged into an outlet or connected to outside doors or windows. Finally, if someone you know is unfortunate enough to get struck by lightning, call 911 immediately, monitor the victim in the meantime and use CPR if necessary. Lightning survivors do not carry an electrical charge, so they are safe to touch.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Lightning seems to be striking, and even killing, lots of people this summer. What are the odds you'll get struck in your lifetime — and how can you minimize the risk?
They say lightning never strikes twice. But in recent days it seems to be striking again and again — to deadly effect. On Wednesday, the Norwegian Ski Federation announced that Olympic skier Audun Groenvold, a bronze medalist at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, died the previous evening after lightning struck him on 'a cabin trip.' Groenvold was 49 years old. Exactly one week earlier, a lightning bolt hit another athlete, Simon John Mariani, 28, while he was playing the 15th hole of New Jersey's Ballyowen Golf Course. Mariani 'unexpectedly' died of his injuries on Monday, according to an obituary his family posted online. Around the same time, two Georgia teens, Joey Nelson, 18, and Randall Martin III, 19, were struck and killed while fishing in a local pond. And five people were injured by lightning near Florida's St. Augustine Pier on Saturday afternoon. 'I felt the jolt through my body,' one of the victims, Stephanie Bayliss, told News 4 in Jacksonville. 'It was a horrible pain. Everything went blank. Everything was super loud. My ears hurt, and they were muffled. As soon as the second was over, I had a splitting headache. My wife turned around to me and said, 'I just got hit in the back of the head.' I said, 'I did too.'' Here's everything you need to know to stay safe from lightning this summer. Why are there so many lightning strikes (and deaths) right now? The first cause is seasonal. Lightning can occur at any time of year, but since it's typically associated with thunderstorms — and thunderstorms tend to occur when the air is warm, humid and unstable — the phenomenon is most prevalent during the spring and summer months, especially across the mid-Atlantic and Sun Belt regions of the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida is considered the 'lightning capital' of the country. Of course, people have to be around lightning to get hurt by it, and the risk is highest when they're outside (where about two-thirds of lightning injuries take place). The combination of these two factors — weather patterns and outdoor activity — makes July by far the deadliest month for lightning strikes, according to the CDC, with 147 recorded during that month from 2006 and 2021. June (99 deaths) and August (77 deaths) are a distant second and third, respectively. The other dynamic at play could be climate change. In 2014, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that every time the planet warms by 1°C, the number of annual lightning strikes is expected to increase by 12%. So 'for every two lightning strikes you had at the beginning of the century, we will have three at the end of the century,' one of the researchers explained at the time. Lightning fatalities in developing countries have been rising in recent years, likely as a result. What are the odds of getting struck by lightning in your lifetime? Low, but not zero. In 2019, the National Weather Service added the average number of annual U.S. lightning deaths over the previous decade (29) to the average number of annual lightning injuries (243) and calculated that each individual American has a one in 1.2 million chance of getting struck by lightning in any particular year — and a one in 15,300 chance of getting hit at some point during their life. Among the factors that can indicate an increased risk, according to the CDC: gender (males are four times more likely than females to be struck by lightning); age (the average age of a person struck by lightning is 37 years); time of day (two out of three lightning deaths occur between noon and 6:00 p.m.); recreation (from 2006 through 2021, leisure activities such as fishing, boating, playing sports and relaxing at the beach accounted for almost two-thirds of lightning deaths); and occupation (work-related activities contribute to about 18% of total lightning fatalities, with farmers and ranchers at highest risk). Almost 90% of all lightning-strike victims survive, though, so even if a bolt does hit you, chances are you won't die. What happens to your body if you get struck by lightning? Getting struck by lightning delivers a massive electrical pulse to the body. That can short-circuit the heart and stop it from beating. When people die from lightning, they're actually dying from cardiac arrest. Lightning strike survivors typically experience a variety of short- and even long-term symptoms. Burns can affect skin and sometimes internal tissues — though brief heat exposure (lightning only lasts a fraction of a millisecond) can limit the damage. Eardrums may be ruptured. Cataracts often develop, sometimes as much as a year later. The nervous system can be affected as well, with victims reporting headache, nausea, stomach upset and other post-concussion types of symptoms; mild confusion, memory slowness or mental clouding; even dizziness and loss of balance. Longer term, survivors can have trouble with mental processing; some may experience personality change or depression. How to avoid getting hit by lightning About 40 million lightning strikes reach the ground each year in the U.S. To avoid getting hit, shelter in a substantial building or hard-topped vehicle with the windows rolled up at the first sign of a thunderstorm, and remain there until the storm has passed. Rain shelters, small sheds, balconies and porches are not safe. Don't use rain as your guide; lightning can strike 10 miles ahead of a storm and linger after a downpour has ended. Remain inside for 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder. If you can't get inside, do whatever you can to avoid tall structures (rooftops, scaffolding, utility poles, ladders, trees, large equipment) and conductive materials (metal, utility lines, water, water pipes, plumbing). And even if you can get inside, make sure to avoid metal, wiring and plumbing as well. When lightning strikes a home or building, it often follows the wiring or plumbing to ground. Don't touch anything that's plugged into an outlet or connected to outside doors or windows. Finally, if someone you know is unfortunate enough to get struck by lightning, call 911 immediately, monitor the victim in the meantime and use CPR if necessary. Lightning survivors do not carry an electrical charge, so they are safe to touch.
Fox News
16-07-2025
- Climate
- Fox News
Man dies after being struck by lightning at New Jersey golf course: report
A 28-year-old man reportedly died from his injuries this week after being struck by lightning while participating in a golf tournament in New Jersey. Simon John Mariani — a resident of suburban Franklin Lakes in New Jersey — was struck while playing the 15th hole at the Ballyowen Golf Course on July 8. He died "unexpectedly" on Monday, the New York Post reported, citing an online obituary. Brian Delia, a fellow golfer who reportedly witnessed the lightning strike around 300 yards in front of him, said Mariani was taking part in an all-day golf tournament when storms rolled in. Delia filmed the cloudy sky shortly before the incident, according to ABC 7. "I started filming, and he was right in front of me, and all of a sudden the lightning strikes, and I ended the video recording, and we immediately just started heading back to the clubhouse," Delia said. Following the lightning strike, Mariani's father provided mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and other golfers gave him CPR while they waited for authorities to arrive. The 28-year-old was then taken to the hospital, ABC 7 reported. Crystal Springs Resort — which operates the 250-acre golf course — said the stormy conditions developed quickly that day, and that staff sounded an alarm to warn golfers to seek shelter from the weather. However, Delia said his group did not hear an alarm, according to the New York Post. "Last week, the family specifically requested that no information be released about this incident," a spokesperson for Crystal Springs Resort told Fox News Digital in an email. "Out of respect for them, we continue to honor that request." Mariani had been working as an associate at MTS Health Partners in New York City at the time of the incident. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in accounting and economics and received his master's degree in finance from the same university in 2024, the New York Post reported. "Outside of his professional life, Simon embraced all things family and enjoyed painting, photography and baking," as noted in the obituary. "He also loved the outdoors, including the beach, boating, fishing, hiking, golfing and skiing." Mariani is survived by his parents and his two sisters. The news follows several other recent reports of deaths caused by lightning strikes. Olympic medalist Audun Groenvold died after being struck by lightning this past Saturday. Last month, Spencer Loalbo, a father of three in Texas, died after a lightning strike hit him while he was golfing.
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Outrage as golfer, 28, dies from being struck by lightning after fellow player said warning alarm was too quiet
A golfer has died at 28 after being struck by lighting in a horrifying accident at a course in New Jersey - amid claims that players weren't properly warned about the dangerous weather. Simon John Mariani lost his life after being hit at the 15th hole of the Ballyowen Golf Course in Hardyston on July 8 when a storm rolled in. After being rushed to hospital, his injuries saw him pass away on Monday, according to his obituary. But according to News 12 New Jersey, a fellow golfer that day said the alarm that course organizers sounded was far too quiet. 'It was like a small little bullhorn… it wasn't even that loud. I don't even think most people heard it,' Brian Delia was quoted as saying. 'We immediately just bolted off the course, ran into the clubhouse, and then that's when we saw the police coming.' Delia also told ABC 7: 'Nobody did say anything to us, we didn't hear any horns to get off the course at all. 'They started blowing the horns when we were back at the clubhouse and that was after the police were already out there.' Crystal Springs Resort, which operates the golf course, has been contacted by Daily Mail for comment. Before Mariani died from his injuries, the organization told News 12 last week: 'The safety of our guests is one of our top priorities. Our primary concern right now is the well-being of the guest and his family.' Ballyowen is widely regarded as one of the finest courses in New Jersey. Mariani was working as an associate at MTS Health Partners in New York at the time of his death. 'Driven, dedicated, smart, likeable and exceptionally talented, Simon was admired by colleagues for his intellect, integrity, teamwork, sense of humor and strong work ethic,' his obituary said.
