NASCAR fan struck dead by lightning at Pocono Raceway identified

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Mostly empty camping and parking lots appear behind the grandstands after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. A lightning strike in the parking lot at Pocono Raceway after the rain-shortened race killed one person and injured nine others, racetrack officials said. It wasn\'t immediately clear if all 10 people were actually struck by lightning in the parking lot behind the grandstand, nor was it known whether one or multiple strikes occurred. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

LONG POND, Pa. – Authorities say the man killed by a lightning strike at a NASCAR track in northeastern Pennsylvania was a 41-year-old father from a nearby county.

The Monroe County coroner said Monday that Brian Zimmerman, of Moosic, Pa., died as he stood near his car in the parking lot of Pocono Raceway.

Nine other people were injured during Sunday’s violent storm, though it wasn’t immediately clear how many might have been struck by lightning. One was listed Sunday night in critical condition. There was no immediate update Monday.

The crowd was advised over public address systems and through social media to take cover Sunday afternoon when lightning and heavy rain hit the track near the end of the race.

But some NASCAR fans posted on the raceway’s Facebook page that they never heard the weather-related announcements.

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