A lightning strike sent two Department of Public Safety officers to the hospital Sunday night, one with an injury to the back of his head and several burns across his body.

Before a thunderstorm started at 11:55 p.m., DPS officer Stanley Prue and DPS senior detective Edward Weber were parked outside of the Skytop Office Building on South Campus, said DPS Chief Tony Callisto.

The two officers were there on Orange Watch patrol duty, he said.

Callisto said Prue had stepped out of the car to stretch. When his left foot hit the ground, lightning struck the patrol car, shocking the officer and launching him 4-6 feet away, close to where the car’s bumper was, Callisto said.

Weber — who was in the vehicle when it happened — did not suffer any serious injuries, he said.

“It had taken him a couple of minutes to realize what happened,” Callisto said. “He literally noticed Stan was there one second and gone the next.”

After finding Prue lying unconscious nearby, Weber checked to see if he was still breathing and called for an ambulance on the emergency radio, Callisto said. Both Syracuse University Ambulance and Rural/Metro arrived within a few minutes and took both officers to Upstate University Hospital.

Weber was released at about 4 a.m. on Monday, but was told to check with his doctors before returning to active duty, Callisto said.

Prue is conscious, but still in the hospital’s burn unit in a substantial amount of pain, Callisto added early Monday afternoon. Callisto said that Prue will also have to check with doctors before returning to duty.

The patrol car that was struck was a brand new DPS vehicle, a 2013 Chevrolet Caprice, he said.  He said the vehicle’s backdoor was damaged, the paint has “gone right down to the metal” and decals were melted along the car.

“It’s a reminder to everybody that when there’s a storm brewing, the best place to be is inside,” Callisto said. “But the reality for DPS officers, firefighters and EMS responders is, when they have to respond, they don’t have a choice. And that comes with the danger of the job.”

alng@syr.edu

Published on September 2, 2013 at 2:40 pm

Contact Alfred: alng@syr.edu

@alfredwkng