One family has been hit by unimaginable grief as a man died in a shocking freak accident in front of his young son. Prison officer Santonio Catoe, who went by Tony, was enjoying a day on the water with nine-year-old TJ when lightning struck and he lost his life.
Tony was just 39 when he died on April 11 during a fishing trip gone wrong. The dad was out with his son and a group of friends when the unthinkable happened and he was struck by lightning at around 9pm. The incident happened at North East Creek Park near Jacksonville, North Carolina, with wildlife officials explaining that he was thrown from the boat when struck.
According to the New York Post, Tony’s companions pulled him out of the water immediately, but he was already unresponsive. He was then rushed to hospital, but was tragically pronounced dead by medical professionals.
At the time of his death Tony worked as a corrections officer, having previously served in the United States Marine Corps. It wasn’t unusual for him to be out enjoying nature with TJ, with Tony known for having plenty of active hobbies and devoting lots of time to his children.
Tony’s friend Andrew Salis has put together a GoFundMe on behalf of his partner Clarissa Marie Groover, with whom he shared TJ and three other children. In his tribute to the officer, Salis wrote: “Tony Catoe was a man with a heart of gold. He truly had a love for the outdoors; whether it be fishing, rabbit hunting, or hunting hogs, you were sure to find him with a smile on his face.
“If you wanted to see him with an even bigger smile, just look to his side and see his children right there along with him. Tony’s love for his family was something many strive to have.”
He added: “Tony was known to choose the children over adults with anything and everything, telling you that it’s our children that are going to carry on our legacy and keep the love for the outdoors going. It didn’t matter whose kid it was. Tony lost his life doing what he loved with his son TJ by his side. Tony was truly a mentor and a teacher to many of us and will forever be remembered.
“Tony leaves behind the love of his life, Clarissa Cooper, two children, TJ, nine years old, and his little daughter Maya, five years old, along with two stepchildren and countless hounds. Tony was taken away from this earth far too early. The memories that we all share will live on forever in his remembrance.”
While not many lightning strikes are fatal such as Tony’s case, the odds of being struck by lightning do still exist – and in the UK two people per year on average are killed after being hit. This rounds out to a one in 33 million chance of being killed by a lightning strike, according to Radar.
Unfortunately, any thunderstorm can still become fatal. Earlier this year, multiple people died at once when lightning struck a tree in Cajibio, Colombia.
Four footballers, Jeidy Morales, Daniela Mosquera, Luz Lame and Etelvina Mosquera, were hiding during a match and died at the scene, while a man who was with them died in hospital and two other women suffered serious burns.
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