VICTIM CALLED 'FUN-LOVING KID'

BY ELLEN BILTZ

Chelal Beninu Gross-Matos was doing what he loved the night he died: playing baseball.

The 12-year-old was killed Wednesday night when he was struck by lightning on the baseball field at Lee Hill Park in Spotsylvania County.

Melvin Brown, the principal at Chancellor Middle School, said yesterday that Gross-Matos, known as "Clohu" to his friends, will be missed and remembered.

He was "becoming quite a baseball player."

Brown said the sixth-grader's stepfather, Robert Matos, was proud of Chelal for having one off his best games--scoring the only run of the game.

Robert Matos, who coached the boy's Little League team, the Yankees, told Brown that Chelal had gotten a hit and stolen two bases in the inning before the game got stopped because of lightning flashes.

"He had the best game of his life just before it happened," Brown said.

One of Chelal's teammates, an 11-year-old Robert E. Lee Elementary School student, also was hit by a transfer jolt Wednesday night.

He was taken by a LifeCare ambulance to VCU Medical Center in Richmond and was listed in critical condition.

But yesterday he was responding visually to hand motions, said 1st Sgt. Liz Scott of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office.

He's still on a ventilator, Scott said, but "We're all kind of hopeful."

Arlene Brooks, the secretary at the elementary school, said students are getting counseling and everyone is "praying a lot."

'IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE'

Debbie Tellier, whose 12-year-old son played on the same team as Chelal, said yesterday that although the game had been postponed because of lightning, the skies were clear.

"There was a little lightning strike," she said, adding that the umpires called for everyone to get off the field, but many people were still lingering around the parking lot.

Scott said initial reports were that Chelal and the 11-year-old were in the field playing catch when the lightning struck.

But yesterday, she said, it became more clear that they were actually only tossing a ball back and forth as they walked off the field near the other players.

Tellier said there were a few white clouds in the sky when Chelal and the 11-year-old were leaving the field, but no one expected lightning.

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LIGHTNING WARNING TIPS:

Designate a person to monitor threatening weather and make the decision to remove a team or individuals from an athletic event.*

Monitor local weather reports each day before any practice or event. Be aware of potential thunderstorms.

Know where a close safe structure or location is to the field or playing area.

Awareness should be heightened at the first flash of lightning, clap of thunder, or other signs such as increasing winds or darkening skies, no matter how far away.

Avoid using land-line telephones, except in emergencies. People have been killed while using land-line telephones during thunderstorms.

Cellular or cordless phones are safe alternatives to a land-line phone, particularly if the person and the antenna are within a safe structure and if other precautions are followed.

Safety experts recommend waiting 30 minutes after both the last sound of thunder and last flash of lightning before resuming athletic activities.

--NCAA Lightning Safety Guidelines

*Spotsylvania County Little League has a lightning plan in place that was executed before Wednesday's incident.

Read more stories about Spotsylvania
Date published: 6/5/2009

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