A 20-year-old Michigan man died Tuesday evening after what investigators believe was a lightning strike on a walking path behind a hotel in downtown Celebration, Florida. Osceola County Sheriff's Office deputies responded around 6:25 p.m. to a report of an unresponsive man, and bystanders had already begun performing CPR by the time help arrived.
The victim was identified Wednesday as Matthew Eric Jenkins, a 20-year-old from Shelby Township, Michigan, according to the Fox 35 Orlando, which reported that the Osceola County Sheriff's Office worked with federal law enforcement agencies to confirm his identity. Jenkins was pronounced dead at AdventHealth Celebration, and his parents have since been notified, per authorities cited in the same report.
Jenkins was found on a walking path in the 700 block of Bloom Street, situated behind The Inn at Celebration, Autograph Collection, a boutique hotel in the master-planned community originally developed as a walkable town by The Walt Disney Company, according to ReservationDesk.com. Investigators observed that a lightning strike had occurred in the area around the time of the incident, the report notes, though homicide detectives are still awaiting the medical examiner's official determination of cause of death.
Investigation Into Cause of Death Continues
The sheriff's office has not confirmed a final cause of death, and the investigation into the apparent lightning-strike incident remains active. Officials have treated the strike as the leading working theory based on what deputies and bystanders observed at the scene, but the medical examiner's findings will determine the official ruling.
Part of a Deadly Summer Trend Across Florida
Jenkins's death adds to a grim tally for the state this year. Florida had recorded five lightning-related deaths through early September, leading all U.S. states in lightning fatalities for 2026, according to preliminary National Weather Service statistics reported by WLRN. Nationwide, lightning deaths had reached 14 by midyear.
Florida's lightning fatalities have been examined in recent analyses. A 20-year analysis of Florida lightning deaths between 2006 and 2025 found that 85 percent of victims were male, with most incidents occurring in open outdoor spaces or near trees, according to WUFT News.
Why Central Florida Is a Lightning Hotspot
Central Florida experiences frequent thunderstorms during Florida's wet season, with sea breezes contributing to storm development, according to the National Weather Service. That same agency warns that lightning can strike 10 to 15 miles from a storm, so people can be caught off guard even when a storm doesn't seem close. Meteorologists advise staying indoors for 30 minutes after the last thunderclap is heard.
The Celebration incident follows a string of similar close calls and tragedies across the state this summer. On Wednesday evening, September 2, 2026, a husband and wife in their 40s were hospitalized as trauma alerts after a lightning strike was reported along the West Orange Trail in nearby Winter Garden, with Orange County Fire Rescue assisting in transporting both to Orlando Regional Medical Center. About ten days earlier, a mother and one of her twins died in a lightning-related incident in Margate, according to CBS Miami, which noted South Florida averages roughly two lightning deaths and eight injuries per year.
AdventHealth Celebration, where Jenkins was taken, is listed as a 33-minute walk from The Inn at Celebration. The investigation into Jenkins's death remains ongoing as detectives await the medical examiner's final findings.
