An Unnecessary and Avoidable Tragedy
Saturday, we had an awful tragedy in Kansas when a young man who was a husband and father of three children was killed by lightning while running in an endurance race at Elk State Park . CBS News has the background story, here . A key excerpt of the CBS Story, quoting the event organizer, About two-and-a-half hours before Mr. Stanley's death, I tweeted (below) about golfers continuing to play as lightning flashed in the Wichita area. My second sentence was a reference to the common remark after a storm-related tragedy that the storm was a " surprise " or there was "no warning." As the CBS quote above demonstrates, the comment was, unfortunately, prescient. Stipulating that I do not have any knowledge as to the procedures the Flat Rock Trail Race may or may not have had in place, I am going to discuss outdoor events, in general. What can we learn from this case to help prevent future tragedies? The first item is very simple: All of thes...