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South Carolina Man Stuck by Lightning
While Mowing Lawn
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.
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