HOLT, Fla., July 11, 2017–A Kentucky man camping with his family died after being struck by lightning outside his tent last night at the Wilderness Landing Campground off Corduroy Road in Baker.

Jeremy Harper, 35, of Cloverport, Ky., was camping with eight others in his family, including six children ranging in age from 15 months to 13 years old.

It’s believed lightning hit a tree beside him and knocked him to the ground during a thunderstorm around 7:30 p.m.

Harper was transported to North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview.  He passed away around 8:30 this morning.

No one else in the group was injured.

Florida is known as the lightning capital of the United States, with storms occurring approximately 100 days out of the year, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Office website.

Florida ranks number one in the number of deaths due to lightning, 94 percent of which occur between late May and end of September.

Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office news release and staff reports