Florida teenager is ‘fortunate to be alive’ after being struck by lightning while performing yard chores.
A Florida teenager is healing after surviving a lightning hit while performing yard maintenance during a thunderstorm.
Daniel Sharkey, 17, was rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center after the incident occurred at 5 p.m. on Monday in Altamonte Springs.
“It came straight through the tree,” he told Fox 35.
Sharkey, who owns a lawn care company, was weed-whacking a neighbor’s yard during the storm when he was struck, according to the site, which notes that lightning can strike miles away from the storm. He was then spotted lying on the ground, with neighbors rushing to aid him.
The teenager is grateful to have survived the strike, but he is still in pain.
“My chest hurts, and everything is sore,” Sharkey added, adding that he feels “lucky to be alive.”
“I couldn’t scream – at least, I don’t think I was making any noises,” he told me.
Sharkey believes he is still alive because of a lightning strike on a tree near him.
“If it had been a direct impact, I doubt I would still be here today. “I’m lucky that tree was there,” he remarked.
He noticed the storm approaching but incorrectly assumed he had plenty of time before needing to seek cover.
“I saw the storm was approaching; it was thunder and lightning, so I thought I had time,” Sharkey explained. “I was pretty sure I could finish up because we have a siren that goes off when it’s lightning, and it had not gone off yet.”
Sharkey struggled to move after being struck by lightning.
“I was unable to move any of my extremities. It felt like static on you. “Everything was tingling like your hands and arms were asleep,” he explained.
Sharkey claimed he survived a rare lightning strike and considers himself fortunate to be alive.
“It was a pure fluke. The chances of being struck by lightning are one in a million, and survival is not guaranteed. “Fortunately, that tree was there, and I am grateful to be alive,” he remarked.