Four women vacationing at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort in Florida experienced a terrifying encounter with lightning on Thursday. We had such a fun week together playing on the beach! All of a sudden, a huge bolt of lightning hit one of the closest wooden cabanas, or tiki huts as they’re often called. Even though they weren’t directly hit and are generally safe from storm, the lightning jumped through the sand, knocking them both unconscious.
The dramatic scene unfolded soon after a regular large tornado siren warning guests to seek shelter, when ominous storm clouds moved across the property. Danielle Sturgill remembered, “The siren went off, we immediately got out of the pool, and we knew there was a storm coming.” As they sought shelter beneath the tiki hut, these women described a strange feeling just prior to the bolt hitting them. Danielle recalled the moment of impact, stating, “I can remember really heavy pressure on my head, and then after that, I was gone.”
After being knocked unconscious, all four women went to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Kelli Bryant described the aftermath: “When I first woke up, I couldn’t feel my legs at all. They were completely numb.” The deep shared trauma of losing their communities forged an indestructible connection between the group. Kelli added, “It’s like a bond with these girls that I will never forget.”
Becky Johnson expressed her feelings of gratitude post-incident, saying, “God was with us, and he definitely had his hand on us.” The entire group was visibly shaken by the experience, but all were grateful to have escaped without serious injury.
The lightning incident is a good reminder that thunderstorms can be dangerous, even when it doesn’t seem like they’re a threat. The truth is that lightning can actually strike up to 25 miles away from the storm itself. Safety professionals suggest moving indoors as soon as lightning is within 15 miles. That is the case even if you have not yet heard any thunder.
Danielle Sturgill’s memory of those fateful days reminds us how unpredictable weather can be. When she woke up after the accident, she discovered that she was paralyzed from the waist down. The shock overwhelmed her as she struggled to comprehend what had just occurred. “The shock that had went through my body and through my mind — I literally fell to my knees because I couldn’t walk anymore,” stated Becky Johnson.
Taylor Sturgill, who was involved in the crash, had similarly deep thoughts but stopped short of offering additional details. She recalled picking herself up from the ground and questioning her friends about what had just happened: “When I picked myself up off the ground, I looked at Becky and I said, ‘What in the world just happened to us?’”
