Teens’ deaths by lightning elicit dismay, sorrow

School officials and coaches were reeling Friday from the deaths of two recent high school graduates killed by lightning at a park in Westmoreland County as a brief storm moved through the day before.

Brendan A. McGowan, 18, of North Huntingdon, and Kaitlyn “Moe” Rosensteel, 18, of Donora, were fishing on an island in Mammoth Park’s lake in Mount Pleasant Township when they were struck shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday, according to county Coroner Kenneth Bacha.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud crack and seeing a flash of light before the teens’ bodies were found beneath a splintered tree. Others in the park began CPR before park police arrived, but the two could not be revived, the coroner said.

Mr. McGowan was a 2019 graduate of Greensburg Central Catholic High School, where Ms. Rosensteel also had been a student until she transferred to Ringgold High School in Washington County after her sophomore year, according to officials with the Greensburg Diocese and the Ringgold School District.

Ms. Rosensteel played soccer for Ringgold and had signed a letter of intent in December to attend West Virginia Wesleyan College in the

district. “Everyone is just taken aback and upset,” Ringgold soccer coach Olivia Wilkerson said Friday.

Ms. Rosensteel was captain of the varsity team last year, she said. “She was someone that we could count on to get the job done,” Ms. Wilkerson said. “Always motivating, always leading, determined. That was on and off the field.”

Ms. Rosensteel played offense and defense during the past season, stepping into a defensive role after other players suffered injuries.

“It just showed how strong she was,” Ms. Wilkerson said. “She could do anything we asked of her.”

Ringgold Athletic Director Laura Grimm said Ms. Rosensteel’s talent as a soccer player made her a natural leader on the field, but she also carried that confidence into other areas of her life.

She helped school officials plan pep rallies and other sports-related functions.

“She wasn’t always the loudest person in the room, but people always seemed to want to be around her,” Ms. Grimm said.

In a statement to the school community, Ringgold Superintendent Megan Van Fossan expressed the district’s “deepest sympathy” to Ms. Rosensteel’s family and friends.

“No words can appropriately express my sincere sadness for all those affected by this tragedy. Hug those that you love and lean on one another during this time of sadness,” Ms. Van Fossan said.

Greensburg Central Catholic Principal Ben Althof said Friday that he “couldn’t believe it” after learning of Mr. McGowan’s death.

The quiet, well-respected student was at the top of his class, Mr. Althof said.

“I had the opportunity to speak with his family [Friday] and they are grieving deeply,” he said. “We ask for your prayers at this time.”

Mr. McGowan was a member of the National Honor Society and also played second base for the school’s baseball team. He had graduated May 29 and had been accepted to the University of Pittsburgh.

He had won multiple honors during an awards ceremony the day before graduation, Mr. Althof said.

The storm that produced the fatal lightning strike Thursday was nothing out of the ordinary, according to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.

“It was a generic-looking thunderstorm,” meteorologist Matthew Kramar said. “Any thunderstorm can be very dangerous because of lightning. It doesn’t have to be a severe thunderstorm.”