Four people including children hospitalized after lightning strike at Benbrook Lake

As storms moved in Sunday afternoon across parts of North Texas, a trip to the lake with friends ended with the people scattered on the ground and smoke coming from their canopy.

Juan Reyes and his friends were enjoying the start of summer at Mustang Park in Benbrook Lake.

“I mean, the weather was perfect, sunny, and out of nowhere it just started getting cloudy,” Reyes said.

Once the rain began, the group of 14 people took cover under the canopy.

“Our canopy was next to a tree,” Reyes said. “I parked my truck next to the canopy as well, just to kind of keep it from moving.”

Reyes said he remembers hearing a loud thunder.

“It was just a loud bang,” Reyes said. “Everybody was disoriented.”

He described seeing a ball of fire and smoke.

“It just threw me back, unconscious,” Reyes said. “According to the person in front of me, it just struck me, and I just went back.”

On a Facebook post, the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department confirmed lightning struck the canopy, affecting a nearby tree and vehicle.

The affected vehicle, according to Reyes, belonged to someone from the group. The next thing Reyes remembers is trying to stand up and seeing some of his friends on the ground.

“I thought it was some type of gunshot or something. And then I realized, OK, I started seeing everyone just kind of lying and trying to recover,” Reyes said.

Reyes and three others were taken to different hospitals.

“One of the minors … from what I know, he was released earlier. And there was another 2-year-old that was taken too (the hospital),” Reyes said. “And another adult was released as well.”

Reyes was told he would have to spend a second night at the hospital for observation.

“According to the doctors, I have some type of acute deficiency,” he said. “There's some swelling in my right-hand forearm, which is the hand that I was holding the canopy with.”

Reyes said he is still trying to process what he experienced Sunday evening.

“It was just shocking,” Reyes said. “There's no words to describe what we went through. It was just the commotion. Everybody was screaming and crying, and we didn't know what struck us.”

He said he is aware the result could have been much more serious and is thankful everyone is alive.

“Just one of those moments that makes you appreciate,” Reyes said.