Teen struck by lightning in Ottawa dies
by Kristy Nease, CBC News
Posted: May 26, 2012 5:45 PM ET
Last Updated: May 26, 2012 6:44 PM ET
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The victim of a Friday lightning strike during a storm in east Ottawa has died, CBC News has learned.
Joël Gauthier of Rockland, Ont., was killed Friday evening after lightning struck a tree he was taking shelter under on a bike path in Vincent Massey Park. (CBC)The family has identified the man as 18-year-old Joël Gauthier of nearby Rockland, Ont.
"It's not right," said his uncle, Mario Beauchamp, by phone from Calgary on Saturday.
Gauthier was cycling with an 18-year-old woman in Vincent Massey Park on Friday evening during an intense, fast-moving storm that caused damage throughout the city.
Police said the pair had stopped under a tree to put on their rain gear when lightning struck the tree just after 7 p.m. ET.
Victim was an avid cyclist, 'excellent kid,' uncle says
Gauthier went into cardiac arrest and was taken to hospital in critical condition, where he later died.
The woman, meanwhile, was taken to hospital to be treated for numbness in her arms.
Beauchamp said Gauthier was his favourite nephew, an avid cyclist and an "excellent kid" who was studying to become an electrical engineer.
Condolence messages have begun appearing on social media websites.
"You were an exceptional person," one woman wrote on Facebook. "You will be missed, but never forgotten."
Another woman on Twitter said "Only the good die young…You were much too young. RIP Joel Gauthier."
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