Connecticut Man, 21, Dead After Large Tree Branch Struck by Lightning Falls Onto His Car

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Police in Connecticut had to dig through branches and power lines to free a 21-year-old from his car after lightning sent a large tree branch onto the vehicle, killing the man, reports say.

Jarrod Marotto was driving down a residential street in Bridgeport on Wednesday night when lightning struck a nearby cottonwood tree around 5:15 p.m., the Associated Press reported. A large limb fell from the tree and onto Marotto’s car. He was removed from the car unconscious about an hour later, according to the AP.

An electrical crew had to shut down the power lines before firefighters could free him, the AP reported. Marotto, of Southington, was taken to St. Vincent’s Medical Center where he died, according to the Connecticut Post.

“Further investigation revealed that Jarrod was driving southbound on Park Avenue when a large limb from a cottonwood tree was struck by lightning and fell striking the vehicle and Jarrod on the driver side,” Fairfield Police Capt. Robert Kalamaras said, the Post reported. “Jarrod was the only occupant in the vehicle.”

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The incident came in the wake of tropical storm Barry, which sent heavy winds and rain to the area, according to the Post. Trees were knocked down and there were several lightning strikes and accidents as a result of the storm.

More than one 1,000 customers lost power during the storm, with outages in New Haven, Orange, Trumbull, Stratford, Milford, Derby and Bridgeport, the Post reported.

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Bouts of rain and thunderstorms are expected in Bridgeport throughout the weekend along with high temperatures, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters issued a severe thunderstorm watch Wednesday night in the Northeast region, warning of wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour along with potential flash flooding, ABC News reported.

Marotto’s death comes just three weeks after David Schmerzler was killed on June 30 when a tree branch fell onto his car as he drove on Sturges Highway, Fox affiliate WTIC reported.


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