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Man Hit By Lightning On Siesta Key In Doctor-Induced Coma

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By CAROL E. LEE

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: June 26, 2008

SARASOTA COUNTY - A south Siesta Key beach was deserted after sunset Tuesday except for a jogger and a man fishing knee-deep in the Gulf of Mexico.

A storm rolled in. Running near Midnight Pass, Andrew Cratty saw lightning strike Eric Troyer as Troyer held his surf fishing rod.

"There was a flash," Cratty, 42, said Wednesday. "And he just fell."

Cratty pulled Troyer, 28, from the water about 9 p.m. and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation until the paramedics arrived.

"If nobody had seen that, there's no way he could have survived," said Phil Helmuth, a friend of the family who was Troyer's high school basketball coach.

A graduate of Sarasota Christian School, Troyer remained in a medically-induced coma Wednesday evening at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Friends said they were hopeful Troyer would begin coming out of the coma today, enabling doctors to determine whether his brain or heart was injured.

"Everything is good so far," said Vernon Zook, pastor of Abundant Life Church in Sarasota, where Troyer, his wife, Jana, and the rest of his family worship.

"He is in critical condition, but he's stable right now," Zook said.

Troyer is an accountant with Kerkering Barberio in Sarasota.

He went fishing Tuesday night with a colleague, Mike Goodhue. After Troyer hooked a 33-inch snook and the sun set, Goodhue left to run errands.

"He wanted to stick around and continue fishing," Goodhue said of Troyer. The weather seemed fine, Goodhue said.

"There was a storm off in the distance," he said. "It must have rolled in pretty fast."

Cratty said Troyer was unconscious when he pulled him to shore.

He said he tried tapping him on the face and shook his shoulders before giving him CPR.

When Troyer started to spit up, Cratty wet his shirt and wiped his face.

Cratty, who installs fire sprinklers by day and waits tables at Stonewood Grill & Tavern by night, ran to Gulf to Bay Condominiums and banged on doors until someone called 911.

A man who identified himself as Pat helped Cratty carry Troyer from the beach to a patch of grass, Cratty said.

"All the time, I was talking to him," Cratty said. "I just wanted him to come around.

"He wasn't reacting to that," Cratty said.

Troyer's family could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Helmuth said they were at the hospital, grateful for Cratty's efforts and hopeful that Troyer would pull through.

"He's a fine young man," Helmuth said of Troyer. "I don't know anybody who doesn't like him."

Staff writer Anthony Cormier contributed to this report.

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