SEASIDE PARK – A Toms River man died while trying to save swimmers during a June 23 storm.
Area residents spotted a threatening shelf cloud and the coming of a severe thunderstorm that traveled through several northern barrier island communities from Point Pleasant Beach to Seaside Park.
Loud thunder was heard as the wind picked up and around 7 p.m. 58-year-old Patrick Dispoto acted to warn several young people that he spotted on the beach after lifeguards had left.
According to a News 12 report, Dispoto’s girlfriend Ruth made sure she was safe inside his truck prior to heading up the dune and onto the sand. That is when the storm struck and a short time later, he was found unresponsive and CPR efforts began immediately.
Dispoto was pronounced dead just before 9 p.m. at an area hospital. Ruth said she believes he was the victim of a lightning strike that occurred on the beach.
She said he died a hero trying to help get those he observed off the beach to find shelter. News of his death spread quickly and hundreds of tributes were posted on social media. Many of those posts called him a “cowboy hero” because he was rarely seen without his signature cowboy hat. He was also noted by family and friends for his kindness and big heart.
Dispoto’s cause of death is still being investigated. Those that knew him have stated they would never forget their “lovable cowboy hero.” There are those who never met Dispoto but who also praised his selfless action to help the youth on the beach.
His death comes only three years after a similar tragedy in the South Seaside Park section of Berkeley Township when 19-year-old lifeguard Keith Pinto was also struck by lightning just a few miles south. Pinto was working at the White Sands beach on August 30, 2021when a sudden storm tore through Ocean County. He was killed and seven others were injured.
A man was struck by lightning a year prior to that incident, at Island Beach State Park. Lifeguards and public officials are stressing that people leave the beach when there is a storm or even when there is a possibility of a thunderstorm’s arrival.
Signs noting lighting detection devices are now a more common sight around shore community beaches. One is in the Ortley Beach section of Toms River Township. Work on upgraded lightning detection systems in Seaside Park began this week. Such warning systems are designed to detect lightning and allows municipalities to issue warnings.
They are strategically placed and the device sensors pick up electromagnetic signals that are produced by lightning and provide immediate feedback to special monitors.
According to Scientificamerican.com each year in the United States, lightning strikes around 37 million times. It kills 21 people a year in the U.S. on average. “For as often as lightning occurs – there are only a few days each year nationwide without lightning – there are still a lot of misunderstandings about nature’s largest spark. Because of this, a lot of people take unnecessary risks when thunderstorms are nearby.”
