A 19-year-old, who had become a father just six months ago, has tragically been killed by a lightning strike.
Ethan Lawrence, a Broward County resident, was struck by lightning at approximately 10:24AM local time at Vista View Park, confirmed by the Davie Police Department to PEOPLE.
The incident occurred in Davie, Florida, on Sunday, June 30, just six months after Lawrence welcomed his first child, daughter Emara, with his girlfriend, Andrea.
In the newly released 911 call, a woman told the operator: "I believe someone just got struck by lightning up on the hill. I saw lightning strike and somebody just fell down," according to NBC 6.
"I was leaving and a big thing of lightning came and I have not seen the person get up."
The caller, who was uncertain if the person had been hit due to her position, continued: "I was driving at the bottom of the hill to exit the park and a huge thing of lightning came.
"I saw a guy walking up on the hill and then all of a sudden he was like down. It looked like the lightning was like right on him.
"It looked so scary and he just, the person just went down on the ground," she added.
Davie Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE that authorities discovered an adult male deceased in the park after receiving the 911 call and arriving on the scene.
Lawrence's mother, Lourdes, told WSVN that she had sent her husband, Patrick, to look for their son after noticing his phone's location hadn't changed for hours.
“Then the detectives came over to my car and told me ‘I don’t know if there is any easy way to say this at all, so I’m just going to tell you that unfortunately, your son was running, he was struck by lightning and he didn’t make it,’" Patrick said.
Andrea, Lawrence's girlfriend, expressed her shock and disbelief to WSVN. "I am still trying to process it because of how it happened. In a matter of seconds, he texted me in the morning, ‘Good morning love, I woke up late today.’"
The Lawrence family created a GoFundMe page on Thursday, July 4 to “keep Ethan's memory alive by supporting this scholarship fund.”
At the time of writing, the page has raised $10,570 from a target of $30,000.
Part of the page reads: "Liam, who lost his brother, mentor, hero, and best friend, is devastated. Ethan's greatest wish was to see Liam succeed and pursue his dreams, just as he was doing.
"To honor Ethan's memory, we want to ensure that Liam, along with other runners, have the opportunity to achieve their goals and shine brightly, guided by Ethan's spirit."