This stunning photo shows the destructive power of the fast-moving storm that killed a state assistant attorney general and wrecked a 177-year-old church in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
A lightning bolt struck the 16-foot northwest pinnacle of Christ Church on Thursday, causing the stone structure to collapse and bringing down part of its scaffolding, church officials said.
“It was very scary, because I saw the [lightning] bolts against each other,” said Laurie Lupo. “It was like a flash. I thought it was going to hit me.
“I was seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder at the same time, so I knew it had to be close.”
The Clinton Street church’s rector said the Long Island Diocese put up scaffolding six to eight weeks ago to renovate and repair the tower.
The debris struck Richard Schwartz, 61, a state antitrust prosecutor. He was pronounced dead at Long Island College Hospital.
“You could see how big these pieces are that fell off the building,” said Nicole Wheir, 38, who witnessed the horror from her apartment across the street. “The parapet separated from the church and slid all the way down and actually fell through the ceiling of the church.
“I was standing at the window, and I saw a flash of lightning,” she said. “I looked down, and I saw a man under the scaffolding on the sidewalk. I screamed and ran to get the phone.”
Schwartz was still talking when Wheir’s husband raced to his aid, she said. He died at the hospital.
“He was moving,” Wheir said. “He said, ‘I think I’m OK. I think I’m OK.’ ”
Bricks and large chunks of stone from the church still littered the street yesterday, and the back window of a nearby Toyota Camry was shattered.
The church is closed while the Long Island Diocese repairs the damage, said Pastor Ronald Lau, 64.
“I’m very saddened and devastated because a loss of life occurred because of a lightning strike,” he said. “They have my most sincere condolences. They are in the prayers of everyone in the diocese.”