A teenager who was struck by lightning while gardening during a thunderstorm is lucky to be alive, and tells of the horrific moments that followed and the scars left behind.
Daniel Sharkey was mowing his neighbor’s lawn in Altamonte Springs, Florida, around 5 p.m. Monday when he was hit.
He immediately fell to the ground and was writhing in agony as concerned residents rushed to his aid.
“I woke up and I was on the floor. I tried to scream and I couldn’t,” she said. Cable TV.
Sharkey was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center with severe chest pain and suffered scarring on his arms from the electricity that coursed through his body.
A teenager who was struck by lightning while gardening during a storm is doing “remarkably well”
Daniel Sharkey was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center with severe chest pain and suffered scarring on his arms from the electricity that coursed through his body.
Footage of the incident shows Sharkey working on the lawn outside before he was struck by lightning.
The clip shows him rolling on the ground in extreme pain as concerned neighbours rush to his aid.
A woman is heard yelling: ‘Call 911, I’m coming!’
“I was cutting brush and all of a sudden I was on the ground,” Sharkey said.
“I was trying to finish up. I was about to get back to my truck and all of a sudden I woke up face down in a puddle,” he said. US.
“There was no warning. There was no ‘get out of the way.’ It was just instantaneous.”
Neighbor Angelina Tolbert said: “I saw him lying on the ground and I screamed to my son: ‘Oh my God, Daniel was struck by lightning!’”
Daniel Sharkey was mowing his neighbor’s lawn in Altamonte Springs around 5 p.m. Monday when he was hit.
He immediately fell to the ground and was rolling on the floor in agony when concerned residents rushed to his aid.
Doctors said the nearby tree saved the teenager’s life as it absorbed most of the impact and he could have died if the lightning had struck just a few centimetres away.
Tolbert described Sharkey’s recovery as miraculous. “He certainly has some angels with him,” he said.
“I’m happy that if karma exists, it ended up on my side this time,” he said.
The teenager has been described as someone who loves to help and is regularly seen volunteering at the Second Harvest Food Bank.
But he said he’s not done making money this summer from his yard work.
“I mean, I’ve got 20 people waiting to get their lawns mowed, and if they don’t get their lawn mowed, I’m sure I’m going to have a lot of upset customers,” Sharkey added.
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