Lightning strike kills Northern Colorado rancher, 30 head of his cattle

By Jennifer Brown | Colorado Sun

A lightning strike killed a Jackson County rancher and more than 30 of his cattle Saturday afternoon as the man tossed hay from the back of a trailer, the local coroner said Sunday. 

Mike Morgan, 51, was feeding his herd as the strike hit, killing him and knocking the 100 or so cows and calves standing around the trailer off their feet, said George Crocket, coroner for the rural county in far northern Colorado. 

“The 32 cattle did not get back up,” Crocket said. 

“As best I can tell, it hit him on the trailer. The cattle were bunched up around the trailer and it hit them all.” 

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