A 20-year-old Disney College Program intern, Matthew Jenkins, was killed by a lightning strike while on a walking trail behind a hotel in Celebration, Florida, on Tuesday evening. Jenkins had moved from Shelby Township, Michigan, only days earlier to begin the paid internship as a Disney World cast member, making his death particularly poignant given how recently his new chapter had begun. It also highlights the danger of Florida's frequent summer storms, with officials confirming it as the fourth lightning-related death in the state within a month.

Witnesses said a sudden thunderstorm produced a flash of lightning around 6.25pm, after which bystanders found Jenkins unresponsive and performed CPR before paramedics arrived; he later died in hospital despite resuscitation efforts. Hospital staff noted apparent lightning exit wounds on his feet. His father said Jenkins had been training for the Chicago Marathon and often ran the same trail, and Disney issued a statement expressing condolences. The National Weather Service recorded 14 lightning deaths across the US so far in 2026, following other recent Florida fatalities including a father struck while jet skiing and a mother and toddler killed in Margate.