Woman, 20, who was repairing a roof when lightning struck her, knocking her to the ground from the two story house, dies after two weeks in hospital
- Romelia Ramirez died on August 9 – two weeks after being struck by lightning
- The 20-year-old was repairing a roof with five co-workers in Wellington, Florida when she was hit, knocking her to the ground from the two story house
- She was transported to St Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida
- Her co-workers were treated at the scene or nearby hospital
Romelia Ramirez, 20, was working on top of a roof when she was struck by lightning and fell two stories on July 30
A Florida woman who was repairing a roof when she was struck by lightning, knocking her from the two story house, has died after two weeks in hospital.
Romelia Ramirez, 20, died on August 9 after spending two weeks in critical condition at St Mary’s Medical Center, a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department officials announced on Sunday.
Ramirez, who worked for Greenwise Construction & Roofing LLC in Broward County, was working with five other coworkers at the Shaker Wood development on July 30.
While near an AC unit on the roof, Ramirez was directly struck by lightning and fell two stories off the townhouse.
Ali Valls, a neighbor in the area, told The Palm Beach Post that he was inside his apartment when the lightning struck. When he walked outside, a man in a dark blue sedan handed Valls his phone and asked him to call 911 because he didn’t speak English well.
Valls said the man was sobbing.
Ramirez was transported to the St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach where she was in critical condition
Ramirez succumbed to her injuries and died two weeks later
Another workers, Esteban Rubio, was also knocked off the roof and treated by paramedics.
Rubio says the workers were handling metal 20 minutes earlier and the lightning strike could have killed them all.
He told The Palm Beach Post: ‘In one second your life is over. People shouldn’t worry too much about it.’
Florida leads the nation in lightning related deaths, with July being the most fatal month of the year
The remaining five workers were treated for their injuries at the scene or at nearby hospitals.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident.
Florida has the most lightning related deaths in the country, with July being the most common month for fatalities.
Although Florida only ranks fourth in the nation for lightning flashes, AccuWeather attributes it to the dense population and the large amount of people who spend considerable time outside factors.
In 2018, seven people in Florida died after being struck by lightning.
According to the National Weather Service there have been three lightning strike deaths in Florida during 2019