Disney Intern Struck by Lightning in Florida
Matthew Eric Jenkins, a 20-year-old college student from Shelby Township in Michigan, died after being struck by lightning on Tuesday, September 8th. He had recently moved to Florida as part of the Disney College Program, a paid internship that allows students to work at Disney theme parks.
Jenkins was found unresponsive on a walking path behind a hotel in Celebration, near Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. Bystanders performed CPR until first responders arrived and took him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The incident is the fourth lightning-related death in Florida within a month. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 10% of people who get struck by lightning die, with an average of 26 fatalities per year in the United States.