Kameron Glasgow, husband of Kenya Glasgow and father of little Kennedi, has shared a heartbreaking testimony after losing both of them in a matter of seconds when a lightning strike hit while the family was seeking shelter from a storm in Margate, Broward County, in South Florida.
“It is the worst feeling in the world. And turning around to see your wife and daughter there, lifeless, is even worse,” Kameron recounted through tears to the local press about the moment the tragedy occurred.
The family had arrived at their aunt's house for dinner on Sunday when the weather conditions began to worsen.
Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, they decided to take the girls out of the vehicle and run towards the house.
“We saw that the rain was getting heavier and we said, 'We have to bring the girls inside.' It was something simple that anyone would do,” he shared.
But they didn't have time. Kenya, 31 years old, and Kennedi, two, were struck by lightning.
Kameron was just a few meters away and could feel the effects of the shock in his legs.
The other twin daughter of the couple, Kensli, was still inside the car and survived.
"My wife had the biggest heart in the world. She always put everyone before herself. No matter how tired she was, she was always there for everyone," he said.
"This is going to be very hard, but I have to be strong because I have another daughter to take care of. This is extremely difficult.", the father acknowledged while discussing a loss that he is still trying to come to terms with.
"I just lost my best friend."
One day after the tragedy, Kameron turned to social media to publicly bid farewell to his wife and daughter.
"I just lost my best friend. My daughter just lost hers," she wrote.
In his message, he also recalled the death of his father years ago and how that experience changed his way of coping with pain.
"After losing my father a few years ago, I learned a very valuable lesson: never question God."
Kameron expressed that he finds some comfort in thinking that his wife and daughter did not suffer, and he asked those who had the chance to know them to cherish their memory.
"It hurts me, it hurts us, but if you had the chance to feel that beautiful light that my wife and daughter brought into your life, cherish it. It is there for a reason. It shows us all how to love others and reminds us that it doesn’t take much to be kind."
He also left some words directly for them: "Kenya, Kennedi, I love you both so much. I thank you both for choosing me as your husband and father."
The couple would have celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in November.
Now, one of Kameron's greatest concerns is Kensli and the moment when the girl will be able to understand that her twin sister will no longer be here.
"I will be okay because I have to be, because I have another precious daughter in there. But for her to lose her twin sister... there are no words to describe that feeling, because I know that right now she can't even imagine it. That she has lost her best friend," she expressed.
The tragedy occurred in a matter of seconds
The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 23, at the 7900 block of Northwest 1st Street in Margate, Broward County.
The Margate Police and fire and rescue teams responded after receiving a call reporting two people struck by lightning and lying on a sidewalk. The first responders began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on them.
Kenya was transferred to North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach, while Kennedi was taken to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. Both passed away shortly after.
The violence of the impact also shocked the neighbors. Prince Moody told CBS News Miami that it was his son who alerted him that there was a woman lying on the ground. Moody crossed the street to try to help.
“As I approached, I saw a small girl lying a few meters away from her mother. Burned. It’s a scene I never want to see again,” she declared.
More than 200 lightning strikes in one hour
The weather records reflect the intensity of the storm.
The NBC6 First Alert Live Doppler system recorded more than 200 lightning strikes between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday within a radius of approximately 20 miles of Margate.
The National Weather Service also reported five cloud-to-ground lightning strikes within a mile radius of the location where the tragedy occurred.
The deaths of Kenya and Kennedi are the third and fourth lightning-related fatalities recorded in Florida this year, according to the National Weather Service in Miami. The state surpassed 2.3 million lightning strikes by mid-August, with more than 90,000 strikes occurring in a single day.
Chris Vagasky, a lightning data specialist at the National Lightning Safety Council, reminded us that hearing thunder already indicates that one is close enough to a storm to be in danger.
"When you hear thunder, it's best to seek shelter in a safe place, as it can be heard up to 24 kilometers away. If you can hear it, you are in the danger zone of being struck by lightning," he explained.
The Margate Police are conducting an investigation to clarify the circumstances of what transpired.
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