A North Carolina corrections officer died by a lightning strike about a fortnight ago, marking the first 2025 lightning fatality in the United States.
On April 11, a thunderbolt hit 39-year-old Santonio Catoe while he was fishing, according to information from the National Weather Service and the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.
About 9 p.m. at North East Creek Park near Jacksonville, North Carolina, Wildlife officials revealed that Catoe was fishing with his son and many others when he was hit by lightning and thrown from the boat.
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Catoe’s fishing crew immediately pulled him back into the boat, yet he would not respond to any of their efforts to revive him.
The North Carolina corrections officer who fell to a lightning strike was rushed to a hospital and was pronounced dead a few moments after arrival.
Wildlife officials explained that Catoe worked at the Eastern Correctional Institution in Maury, North Carolina, and on Tuesday, his colleagues celebrated his life at his funeral.
Prior to him rising through the ranks with North Carolina Corrections, the officer served in the United States Marine Corps.
Catoe was known as an outdoorsman and leaves behind a wife and four children, per a GoFundMe page that was set up for his family.
On Tuesday, a second-related death caused by a lightning strike while fishing occurred in Mississippi.
Cops say a fisherman was struck by lightning while out in the Goshen area, WLBT-TV reported.
The National Lightning Safety Council, an organization that promotes lightning safety says that fishing has been the leading cause of lightning deaths in the country since 2006.
According to The Post, the council adds that fishing is particularly dangerous because it requires extra time to get to a safe space.
Twelve people died as a result of lightning strikes in the U.S. last year, and an average of 20 people lose their lives across the country every year.
