Rookie Cape May lifeguard survives being hit by lightning

The perfect excuse for a sick day hit Cape May lifeguard Jack Lindeman like a bolt of lightning Sunday afternoon.

Actually, it was a bolt of lightning, and it knocked him off his feet as he stood behind his lifeguard stand, made his head feel like it was going to explode and left a distinct rusty taste in his mouth.

But the tall, muscular 19-year-old Princeton University sophomore was back on duty yesterday morning behind a pair of Ray-Bans, a few layers of sunblock and freckles and a small crowd of admirers.

"I woke up today and felt pretty good," the Washington Township, Gloucester County, native said yesterday from his perch above the Colton Court beach. "Plus, I like the job and I could use the money. People keep telling me I should buy a lottery ticket today."

Lindeman was one of six people struck by lightning Sunday in New Jersey during heavy storms that ravaged the coast. An Elizabeth man was killed on the beach in Sandy Hook, Monmouth County, and a girl was struck in Cape May not far from where Lindeman was hit.

Lindeman, a rookie with the Cape May Beach Patrol, and veteran guard Ralph Atwell were clearing the beach at 1:15 p.m. Sunday when heavy clouds and rain rolled in.

"I remember the rain hitting and then that first crack of lightning. I don't remember anything after that," Lindeman said.

Atwell, a 40-year veteran of the beach patrol, said it seemed as if everyone on the beach flinched when that lightning bolt struck. And when Atwell saw Lindeman on the ground with his head between his hands, he said, he thought his partner was just being cautious.

"It was so close, I knew someone had to be hit," said Atwell, a teacher at Shawnee High School in Medford, Burlington County. "At first when I saw him, I thought, 'Man, this kid has quick reflexes.' "

But Lindeman, a standout swimmer with the beach patrol and a member of Princeton's crew team, didn't get up.

"He was just knocked clear off his feet," Atwell said. "When I went up to him, he said, 'I gotta get out of here. I gotta get out of here.' He was dazed, but I helped him get up. He's one tough, lucky kid."

Just before the storm hit, Jack's mother Joan Lindeman was eating lunch a few blocks away and contemplating placing an anonymous call to beach patrol headquarters with a false lightning report.

"We wanted him down from the stand," she said with a laugh. "And then we heard this big, loud crackle."

The first thing Jack Lindeman remembered after the sound was the pain.

"I was down on my butt in the sand and I had this incredible pressure in my head," he said. "There was this metallic taste in my mouth, too. Ralph was there and I remember telling him, 'I think I got hit.' "

Lindeman was taken by ambulance to Cape Regional Medical Center, where he was treated by doctors and doted on by a large family and released a few hours later.

"I think just about everybody from my family came to the hospital," he said. "There was uncles, aunts, cousins. They were all there."

His mom wasn't apologetic about that.

"Yes, he was totally annoyed with all of us," she said. "But that's family."

And although she brought her son lunch on the beach yesterday, Joan Lindeman still thought her eldest son should have been back in bed.

"He could have given his body a little rest," she said, looking up at Jack. "But he's big and he's strong and he doesn't think anything can hurt him."

For his part, Jack Lindeman said he got plenty of rest already and did not want to miss the chance to qualify for a lifeguard boat-rowing competition yesterday.

"I had a full nine hours of sleep and I'm competing for a spot," he said.

Capt. Buzz Mogck of the Cape May Beach Patrol said lifeguards are the first people on the beach in the morning and the last to leave in the event of an electrical storm.

"It's their job to get everyone off the beach," he said.

Mogck, who says he has been struck by lightning three times in his 30-year career, said Sunday's storm came in quickly from the mainland and surprised everyone.

"We just started getting everybody out of the water and off the beach. The beach is the most dangerous part during a storm. We had a man and a small child struck on the beach a few years ago," he said.

Jack Lindeman said that's the lesson people can learn from his brush with Mother Nature.

"When the lifeguards tell you to clear the beaches, you shouldn't grab your chairs," he said. "Just get off the beach."