A 59-year-old man from Toms River, New Jersey was struck and killed by lightning on Sunday evening while trying to warn children of an approaching thunderstorm at J Street Beach in Seaside Park. Patrick Dispoto’s final act of bravery highlights the dangers posed by lightning and the selflessness of individuals who put others’ safety before their own.
Dispoto and his girlfriend, Ruth Fussell, had just left the beach around 7 p.m. on June 23 when ominous clouds began to gather. Concerned for the safety of children still playing in the water, Dispoto returned to the beach to warn them, despite Fussell’s pleas to stay safe. “He said, ‘I’ll be right back,’” Fussell recalled. “I said, ‘You have no business going back.’ He replied, ‘I’m just going to warn these kids because the sky will open up. I’m just going to warn these kids, one minute.’ I said, ‘No!'”
After ensuring that Fussell was safely in his truck, Dispoto returned to the beach. She waited for 15 minutes and called him three times, but there was no response. Becoming more anxious, she returned to the beach and discovered Dispoto lying face down in the sand, with a bystander calling for assistance. Fussell and the stranger’s wife attempted to perform CPR on Dispoto until first responders arrived.
Dispoto was found unconscious on the beach around 7:38 p.m. and was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead just before 9 p.m. Police confirmed that a lightning strike caused his death. The doctor said, “45 minutes after the brain has no oxygen, you have to unplug him.” “I said, ‘No, you can’t,’” Fussell shared in an interview.
Dispoto’s selfless actions have left a lasting impact on those who knew him. Fussell portrayed her boyfriend as someone who always seized chances to help others. “His final act of bravery was his greatest, and that’s my Patrick Dispoto,” she stated.
The National Weather Service reports that the average individual has a 1-in-600,000 chance of being struck by lightning in their lifetime. Even mild thunderstorms can produce lightning, with most fatal strikes happening when individuals are swimming, hiking, or golfing.
Dispoto’s death occurred three years after 19-year-old lifeguard Keith Pinto was killed by lightning while attempting to evacuate visitors from White Sands Beach in South Seaside Park. In memory of Pinto, a portion of the beach was subsequently named in his honor. Seaside Park is installing three state-of-the-art lightning warning systems along its mile-and-a-half-long beach in response to these incidents. The systems, approved in April, will send out warnings before storms reach the shoreline, giving beachgoers ample time to reach safety.
Seaside Park Lifeguard Captain Jim Rankin explained the new system’s capabilities: “Our goal is not to let people know that the storm is here. We aim to let people know the storm is approaching – to give them plenty of time to get to safety.”
Fussell wishes for Dispoto’s courage to be remembered and to highlight the significance of paying attention to weather warnings.
In New Jersey, there have been 16 lightning-related fatalities since 2006, with five occurring on beaches.
