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Men struck by lightning in Stouffville

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The weather has already proven to be dangerous in Whitchurch-Stouffville — which is a little more than an hour’s drive from Hamilton on the 407. That’s where four people were hit by lightning while on the Bethesda Grange golf course, north of Markham.

Witnesses say one man had to be brought back from the dead. He’s in critical condition in hospital right now. Three others are in stable condition after being hit by lightning earlier in the day.

It happened around noon. The three men were on their last round of 18 holes for the day. They were only 50 metres from the clubhouse. Witnesses say they heard a loud clap of thunder and a huge bolt of lightning. Then they say they heard screaming. 45-year old Rick Adams was pretty shaken up by what he saw: “As we were coming, approaching to the vehicles to put our gear, the clubs and so forth, into the car, that’s when the lightning bolt over my head came down. Then there was screaming and so a bunch of my colleagues rushed over and helped what they could. There was 4 people. One gentleman was severely injured. The others, they were burned from the electric. It was a very loud thunder — it literally scared me.

“The victims all had bleeding noses and stuff — all three victims that I saw had bleeding noses. (Were they talking?) They were conscious. The more serious one was a little bit, you know. He was hurting so hopefully he makes it.”

Now witnesses are also crediting a CPR nurse who just happened to be here playing golf, with saving the man’s life today.

“The real hero is the nurse, that ICU nurse I believe that performed CPR because he wasn’t breathing at the time. That’s the real hero when it comes down to it. He brought him back.”

9 or 10 people are killed every year by lightning strikes in Ontario and 164 more are injured. Now, the police say that the man who was critically injured here todat is expected to survive.