Pasco High graduate struck while evacuating others
By Kyle LoJacono
Hours after celebrating his 21st birthday, Pasco High graduate and Dade City resident Justin Inversso was fatally struck by lightning while at Adventure Island water park on Sept. 10.
Justin was working as a lifeguard supervisor and was trying to clear guests off the Key West Rapids water slide in anticipation of severe weather coming through the area. He was standing in 2-3 feet of water when the strike happened at about 11:45 a.m., according to a Tampa Fire Rescue incident report.
The report states other employees pulled Justin out of the water and tried to perform CPR. He was taken to University Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Justin’s father is Sgt. Frank Inversso, a bailiff supervisor with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.
“He was a strong young man, conscientious of living his life according to the ways of the Lord,” Frank said. “He was a true lifeguard. He was committed to being a true life preserver and soul preserver.
“He is at peace,” Frank continued. “He would be celebrating his life as a victory.”
Justin graduated from Pasco in 2009 and from Pasco-Hernando Community College this spring. He had just started his junior year at the University of South Florida as an engineering student. Frank said Justin had hoped to be part of an engineering program at Busch Gardens, which would help pay for his tuition while giving him experience in the field.
Frank said Justin was an honors student while at Pasco, where he also was a captain of the Pirates swimming and diving team. He also played on the Dade City school’s basketball team as a sophomore.
The park was in the process of closing the ride and other attractions because of the approaching storm when Justin was hit, according to the fire rescue incident report. It added that rain had not yet begun to fall when the strike happened.
Jim Dean, president of Busch Gardens and Adventure Island, said it is the first time anyone has been hit by lightning at the park since it opened in 1980.
“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees and guests,” Dean said. He added the park is constantly monitoring the weather in case of any approaching threat.
Dean said their investigation has shown the lightning hit the tower that helps hold up the 700-foot-tall water slide. The electricity traveled through the metal and the water surrounding Justin before entering his body.
Ray Yeakley, spokesman for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, said it is “amazing no one else was hurt” because of the lightning strike that killed Justin.
“Because there is so much water, anyone else standing in the water would have likely been badly hurt or killed too,” Yeakley said. “Everyone else must have been able to get out before it happened.”
Yeakley said people need to be extra cautious when severe weather is approaching, because it doesn’t have to be raining for a deadly bolt to strike.
“The best thing to do is get out of any water as soon as you hear any thunder or see lightning or dark storm clouds,” Yeakley said. “The lightning can pass all the way through even the biggest pools. You also need to stay away until a storm has completely passed over.”
Yeakley added people should come down from any high elevations and avoid metal objects during a storm.
As for Justin, his family laid him to rest last week.
“He’s in heaven now,” Frank said. “He got to go to heaven for his birthday, and there is no better place to be.”
