Florida Mother and 2-Year-Old Daughter Killed by Lightning as Husband Witnesses Tragedy

Kenya Glasgow.Facebook/Kam Glasgow

A Florida family’s attempt to get indoors ahead of an approaching storm ended in tragedy when a lightning strike killed 31-year-old Kenya Glasgow and her 2-year-old daughter, Kennedi, as they arrived for a family dinner in Margate.

Kenya’s husband, Kameron “Kam” Glasgow, was nearby when the lightning struck Sunday afternoon, Aug. 23. He said he felt an electrical shock through the ground before turning around and seeing his wife and daughter lying outside.

The tragedy left Kameron mourning the woman he had loved since their teenage years while also confronting another devastating reality: Kennedi had a twin sister, Kensli, who must now grow up without her.

Family was trying to get inside before the storm

Kennedi Glasgow.Facebook/Kam Glasgow

The Glasgow family had arrived at Kameron’s aunt’s home in the 7900 block of Northwest First Street for a family dinner when the weather began deteriorating.

Kameron recalled noticing the rain intensifying and deciding they needed to get the girls inside. Moments later, at approximately 2:30 p.m., lightning struck.

A witness told ABC that Kenya and Kennedi appeared to have just gotten out of their vehicle when they were struck. Prince Moody, who was nearby, recalled seeing an orange glow and rushing outside after learning that someone had been hit.

Kameron was close enough to feel the effects himself.

He later explained that he was hit by an aftershock traveling through the ground. When he turned toward his family, he saw Kenya and Kennedi motionless.

“Words can’t describe that feeling,” he told Local 10.

First responders fought to save mother and daughter

Kenya Glasgow and her husband Kam Glasgow.Facebook/Kam Glasgow

Margate Police and Margate Fire Rescue responded to the scene after receiving a 911 call reporting two people struck by lightning and lying on the sidewalk.

Emergency crews immediately began CPR and other lifesaving measures.

Kenya was transported to North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach, while Kennedi was taken with a police escort to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. Despite those efforts, both were pronounced dead shortly after reaching the hospitals.

Margate Police said the incident remains under investigation.

A husband loses the woman he had loved since his teens

Witness Prince Moody speaks on Sunday in Margate after a mother and her 2-year-old daughter were killed when they were struck by lightning.WSVN

For Kameron, the loss of Kenya represents the loss of a relationship that had defined much of his life.

The couple had been together for roughly 15 years and married for four. He described Kenya as his best friend and someone with an extraordinary capacity to care for others.

Speaking after the tragedy, Kameron remembered his wife as a woman who consistently put other people ahead of herself and was always there when someone needed her.

He said they met while they were teenagers, and described Kenya as one of the people who helped shape the person he became.

“She helped me make me into the man that I am today,” he said.

Kennedi remembered as an energetic little girl

Kenya and Kennedi were found lying on the sidewalk by the Margate Police Department.WSVN

Kameron also shared memories of his 2-year-old daughter.

He described Kennedi as an “Energizer Bunny” who already had a remarkable enthusiasm for music. One of her favorites was Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” which her father recalled her singing into a karaoke microphone despite being only two years old.

Kennedi’s death carries another particularly painful consequence for the Glasgow family.

Her twin sister, Kensli, survived.

Kameron said it is difficult to comprehend what losing a twin will eventually mean for his surviving daughter, who is still too young to fully understand what has happened.

Father now focuses on surviving twin Kensli

Kameron said the family is leaning heavily on relatives, friends and faith as they try to process the sudden loss.

Despite his own grief, he said he knows he must continue moving forward because Kensli still needs him.

“It’s going to be OK because I have to be,” he said, explaining that he still has another daughter depending on him.

In an emotional social media tribute, Kameron thanked Kenya and Kennedi for choosing him to be their husband and father and promised that he and Kensli would continue carrying their memory forward.

He also urged those who had experienced Kenya and Kennedi’s warmth and kindness to cherish what they had brought into their lives.

A rare tragedy

Lightning strikes are uncommon but potentially deadly. According to information cited by NBC, approximately 37 million lightning strikes reach the ground in the United States annually, while an individual’s odds of being struck are less than one in a million. Nearly 90% of people struck survive.

For the Glasgow family, however, an ordinary Sunday family gathering became an unimaginable tragedy in a matter of seconds.

Kameron survived the electrical effects of the strike and is now left to raise Kensli while grieving both his wife and one of their twin daughters.

Margate Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Aug. 23 lightning strike.