Jake Rosencranz, 29, had just arrived in Florida with his wife, Leah, for a long-delayed honeymoon when the unthinkable happened. On June 20, while wading in ankle-deep water at New Smyrna Beach, a lightning strike hit him as a storm edged toward the coast. Lifeguards and first responders worked tirelessly to revive him and rushed him to AdventHealth, but despite every effort, he passed away the next day—Florida’s first lightning-related death of 2025.
Jake’s sudden loss stunned both the beach town where it occurred and his mountain community in Colorado. Friends remembered him as a “true Coloradan,” even though he grew up in Massachusetts. He and Leah’s love story stretched back to their high school years, through countless adventures in the Rockies with their dog, Bonnie, and culminated in a joyful wedding at Arapahoe Basin in 2023. Their honeymoon was meant to celebrate that journey; instead, it became the backdrop to an unimaginable tragedy.
Tributes poured in from officials, family, and friends. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood publicly offered condolences, praising the lifeguards and medical teams who tried to save Jake and mourning the anniversaries he and Leah should have had ahead of them. Leah’s brother launched a GoFundMe to help her with medical expenses and to navigate a future she never thought she would face, describing Jake as an “incredible husband” and family member deeply loved by all.
Though lightning strikes are rare, their impact is devastating. On the same day Jake was struck, two golfers nearby were injured in a separate incident. But beyond statistics, what remains vivid is Jake himself—the mountain mornings, the ski runs, the laughter with Leah, and a life lived with adventure, generosity, and joy. His story now lives on in the people who loved him, and in the memories of a marriage and a man taken far too soon.
