Matthew Eric Jenkins, a 20-year-old from Shelby Township, Michigan, lost his life on Tuesday after being struck by lightning while walking on a pedestrian path in Celebration, Florida, just a week after moving to the state to participate in the Disney College Program, according to a report by Fox Orlando.
According to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, Jenkins was found unresponsive on a pathway behind a hotel on Bloom Street, near the center of Celebration, at around 6:25 PM on Tuesday.
Witnesses seeking shelter from the storm saw him collapse and immediately began resuscitation efforts. He was transferred to AdventHealth Celebration, where he was pronounced dead.
Felipe Costa recounted that he was walking along the path with his brother when the storm suddenly broke out. "Suddenly we saw the flash. We didn't see where the lightning struck, but it was very strong and came very quickly. We knew it was close," Costa said.
Upon hearing that someone had fallen, Costa ran to the scene. "I ran over and saw the man on the ground. The woman who was following me checked his pulse, his breathing, and immediately began CPR," he described.
Another witness, Spyro Betz, said that he heard the impact from his vehicle. "I heard the loud crash of the lightning right above. I expected it to have struck the building or the hotel. I didn't expect it to hit a person," he stated.
Jenkins' father confirmed to the media that his son had arrived in Florida the previous week to begin the Disney internship program, a paid initiative for college students based at Walt Disney World. The family made annual trips to the park, and the young man had a special connection to the place.
Jenkins was also training for the Chicago Marathon and often ran the trails of Celebration. "He was a kind and very funny soul. His parents, his brother, his girlfriend, his extended family, and several close friends who were like family loved him," his father said.
After hearing the news of the passing, Costa returned to the site of the incident to leave flowers. "I went to the place, picked some flowers from the area, and placed them where he was. I wanted to leave that as a memento," he shared.
Disney issued a statement in which they expressed: "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Matthew. He had just started his journey in the Disney College Program and will always be remembered as part of our Disney community. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and loved ones during this very difficult time."
The Osceola County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the incident, and the medical examiner is working on the official determination of the cause of death, although later reports indicate that the medical examiner has already confirmed that lightning was responsible for the death.
Jenkins' death occurs during an exceptionally active thunderstorm season in Florida. This would be the fourth lightning-related fatality in the state in less than a month.
At the end of August, a mother and her two-year-old daughter died after being struck by lightning in Margate, Broward County.
Florida surpassed 2.3 million lightning strikes by mid-August, with days experiencing over 90,000 strikes in 24 hours, and between 2016 and 2025, it recorded 51 deaths due to this phenomenon, more than any other state in the country.
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