Dad shares heartbreaking final message after wife and toddler daughter killed by lightning strike
A grieving husband and father has spoken out after a single bolt of lightning killed his wife and two-year-old daughter within moments of each other.
Kameron Glasgow, from Margate, Florida, lost his wife Kenya, 31, and daughter Kennedi on August 23 when lightning struck them in the driveway of a family member's home, according to the Guardian.
He told local news station WSVN he was only feet away when it happened, and that he felt some of the strike's effects himself.
Kensli, Kennedi's twin sister, was sitting inside the family's parked car nearby and was unharmed.
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Kenya and Kennedi were rushed to separate hospitals but both died shortly after arriving, authorities confirmed.
Speaking at a candlelight vigil held in the family's honor at Margate Elementary School on Saturday, Kameron described the moment he realized what had happened as the ‘worst feeling in the world.’
He recalled having to ‘turn around and see your wife and your daughter’ badly hurt in front of him.
He also opened up about how three-year-old Kensli is coping without her twin, suggesting her age might be shielding her from the full weight of the loss as she continues playing without her sister by her side.
How rare is it to be killed by lightning?
Despite the devastating outcome, being struck by lightning is exceptionally uncommon.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are around 37 million lightning strikes across the US every year, but puts an individual's odds of being struck at less than one in a million.
The CDC also notes that roughly 90% of people struck by lightning survive.
Still, the National Weather Service warns that lightning can strike as far as 25 miles from a storm, even in areas where it isn't currently raining.
The agency advises people to head indoors as soon as they hear thunder, since it's a sign a storm is close enough to pose a danger.
Kameron remembered Kenya as someone whose warmth extended to everyone she met, regardless of how long she'd known them.
“Words can't describe her – like it doesn't matter if she knows you her entire life, 10 days, five minutes, she's going to love you all the same, and she's always going to make sure you're OK before … herself,” he said.
He urged others not to take their loved ones for granted, adding: “Guys, if you have someone like that in your life, hold them tight because they are one in a million.”
In a Facebook post following the tragedy, Kameron wrote: “I just lost my best friend. My daughter [Kensli] just lost her best friend [Kennedi].”
He later thanked the community for its outpouring of support, saying it had left his family's ‘cups overflowing,’ and encouraged followers to 'hug your people tight and tell them you love them.'
Thomas Bamford