Vincentian cricketer struck by lightning bolt in NY

A Vincentian family is hoping for the best after one of their loved ones was struck by a bolt of lightning during a cricket match in New York.{{more}}

Last Sunday afternoon promised to be a time of fun for Stephen Gibson and the members of his Brooklyn-based Stars United Cricket Team, but shortly after 4 p.m., events took an awkward turn when lightning struck the 41-year-old on his head.

The New York Post reports that Gibson, a construction worker from East Flatbush, went into cardiac arrest at Marine Park, where the game was being played. The newspaper states that the lightning ripped Gibson’s hat into five different pieces, lifted him into the air about two feet and left his pants in tatters.

Gibson, a former resident of Gomea, who left St.Vincent and the Grenadines for Barbados almost 10 years ago, before migrating to the United States, may have been saved by Joseph Shortte, a 48-year-old Brooklyn accountant who performed CPR on him until paramedics arrived. Gibson was rushed to Beth Israel hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

Giving deeper insight into the bizarre incident, the Daily News reports that Gibson was playing in his first game for Stars United against Middlesex Cricket County Club when rain started pouring.

According to the Daily News, Gibson had lagged behind the group to collect equipment when he was hit. The newspaper added that Gibson’s legs were badly burnt and his clothes “totally destroyed”.

On Wednesday, July 29th, 2009, SEARCHLIGHT spoke to Gibson’s sister Olida ‘Val’ Cain who noted that she has been praying to God for a miracle. Cain said relatives told her that her brother was sedated and on life support machines, as a result of his injuries, which included bleeding to his brain.

She noted that on Tuesday she got an update that the bleeding had stopped and he was showing signs of response.

“Right now I feel light, light. Deep within I don’t feel right, although I know if the Lord take him he will be in a better place,” said the grieving sister, who described Gibson as a Jack-of-all-trades.

According to the National Weather Service of the United States, lightning is a major cause of storm related deaths in the U.S., out pacing hurricanes and tornados in most years.

The Storm Data, a National Weather Service publication, disclosed that over the last 30 years the U.S. has averaged 58 reported lightning fatalities per year. Due to under reporting, the figures are more realistically at least 70 deaths per year. Only about 10% of people who are struck by lightning are killed, leaving 90% with various degrees of disability.

The odds of a person being struck by lightning in their lifetime (estimated at 80 years) is 1/5000.