Man killed by lightning at Christie Pits

Dan Robson Henry Stancu Staff reporters A 28-year-old man has died after he was struck by lightning tonight just before 8 p.m. Witnesses say the man had sought shelter from the pounding storm under a maple tree at Christie Pits, near Christie and Bloor Sts, when he was struck. Curtis Puncher was sitting on his porch when he saw the lightning flash in the park. After the rain stopped he went to check the tree he thought had been struck, but instead found the man not breathing and without a pulse. Puncher performed CPR under the guidance of a 9-1-1 dispatcher until paramedics arrived. The man was taken to Toronto Western Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Environment Canada recorded 430 lightning flashes during the storm that ripped across the GTA tonight, said Arnold Ashton, a severe weather meteorologist. More than 50... [read full story]