lightning strike kills biker

Lawrence Journal-World

Troy Gentzler, 45, was volunteering for Bikers Against Child Abuse when he died.

(April 27) -- A Lawrence, Kan., man died Saturday after he was struck by a bolt of lightning as he and six companions rode their motorcycles through a rainstorm, the Lawrence Journal-World reported.

Troy Gentzler, 45, was killed shortly after visiting an abuse victim for the northeast Kansas chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse.

The bolt struck as the group was traveling between the towns of Grantville and Perry.

"You can sum it up in one word: bizarre," Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Herrig told the newspaper.

A woman riding next to Gentzler was injured in the accident. She was treated at a hospital and released.

Bikers Against Child Abuse supports children who have suffered physical or sexual abuse. Members of Gentzler's chapter conducted their annual tour Saturday, visiting people who had been in the program for several years, the Journal-World reported. Gentzler had been a member for about two years.

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