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Denver man struck, killed by lightning on Boulder's Bear Peak identified

Posted at 12:36 PM, Jul 17, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-17 14:37:11-04

BOULDER — The Boulder County Coroner's Office has identified the man who was struck and killed by lightning on Bear Peak on Sunday.

The coroner's office said Peter Jornroth, 36, of Denver died in the incident.

The official cause and manner of death are pending investigation, the office reported.

The Boulder County Sheriff's Office said the man had been hiking about a quarter mile from the trailhead, located in the 2700 block of Bison Road, with his wife around 1 p.m. when the lightning struck. His wife had injuries that were not life-threatening. Jornroth was airlifted to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.

The initial investigation found that the man had received a direct strike to his upper body, according to the sheriff's office.

This was the second time in two weeks that lightning struck hikers in Colorado. Eight people were injured, one critically, after lightning struck near a group of hikers at Devils Head on June 30.

This is likely the first lighting death in Colorado and the eighth in the United States this year. Nobody was killed due to lightning on 2018 in Colorado. Two people in Colorado died in both 2017 and 2016. Those four people were all participating in outdoor activities at the time.