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August 14, 2006

A Myrtle Beach, South Carolina man beat the odds after he was struck by lightning and lived to tell about it. Al Lohr was mowing his grass when the lightning bolt hit.

Lightning kills more people each year on average than hurricanes and tornadoes combined. Most people greatly underestimate the probability of being involved in a lightning strike. According to the National Weather Service, the chance of an individual in the United States being killed or injured during a given year is one in 240,000.

Lohr was hurrying to finish cutting the grass his yard when he saw the storm. "I was going as fast as I can and kept on looking up. Should I stop, should I stop? I guess I should have stopped," said Lohr.

That's when a flash of light surrounded him. "You can see where it came down the tree right here," said Lohr as he showed the black marks on the tree. "It came across the yard into the lawn mower and into my fingertips." "The lawn mower went forward by itself five feet. My arms just went like this and then it was my heart just racing really fast. Paramedics came right away and rushed me to the hospital," said Lohr, still obviously shaken by the experience.

As the ambulance raced to the hospital, Lohr says he remembers thinking he was going to die.

Lohr considers himself a very lucky man for surviving what most people do not. "Lucky, lucky to be here," he said.

In the United States, an average of 66 people are killed each year by lightning. In 2004, there were 32 deaths attributed to lightning, down from 44 thanks in part to increased education and safety. In 2005, there were 43 deaths confirmed deaths and 172 confirmed injuries.