PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The family of a man who was struck by lightning over the weekend while riding a personal watercraft off the coast of Fort De Soto honors his memory.
“He and his wife are some of the best people I absolutely know on this earth,” said family friend Fano Barton. “Steve and his wife, they didn’t have much, but what they had they gave to everyone.”
41-year-old Steve Matheson was in town from Utah for a work trip. On Saturday he went out in the water with a friend on a Sea-Doo where he was struck by lightning.
“Steve always tried to do things to put his family first, loved his kids, shows up to everything and if work interfered, work had to go,” said another family member James Shuman. “That’s how important his family was.”
Marrianne says her cousin checked weather radar before heading out that morning. She says just before he was struck, he and his friend had stopped to help a distressed boater they found on their way back to shore.
“They knew the storm was there and coming and so even in his last moments, he was helping people, serving,” Marianne said.
Max Defender 8 Meteorologists say thunderstorms can sometimes give people a false impression that they’re safe from the bolts when a storm isn’t directly overhead.
“We get lightning strikes well ahead of the rain and well behind the rain,” said Rebecca Barry. “They’re called ‘bolts from the blue’ because oftentimes the top of the storm is not in the same location that the bottom of the storm is so you’ll get lightning strikes well before you get raindrops.”
Hearing thunder typically means you are in danger of being struck.
Matheson’s family says with his sudden death, his wife is dealing with unexpected expenses.
“Flying Steve back to Utah, the costs with that, the funeral, and then her trying to figure out the next 10 to 20 years, what to do for her kids, being a single mom now,” said Barton.
The family is raising money online for their expenses. So far they’ve been able to raise around $50,000 dollars from the community.