ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — A teenager struck by lightning in Altamonte Springs Monday night is now recovering at home, and describing the frightening experience.
Daniel Sharkey says he was trying to cut his neighbor’s lawn when lightning struck a nearby tree — and him.
Sharkey said the shock threw him several feet and knocked him out for a moment. He says it felt like he had the wind knocked out of him, making it hard to even yell for help in the moments after.
“I know I was moving my mouth, but I don’t think I was able to say anything,” he said. “I might have been trying to say ‘help me,’ and I was trying to scream it, but it was coming out very faint. There was a moment in my head where I was like — this entire situation is a dream and I’m going to wake up in my bed. Or I’m dead.”
An Altamonte Springs teen says he’s lucky to be alive after lightning struck him while cutting grass.
— Jeff Allen (@News13JeffAllen) July 18, 2024
Daniel Sharkey told me how it all went down.
He has some burn marks. A neighbor’s video shows him on the ground. The strike left burns and holes in his clothes. @MyNews13 pic.twitter.com/JI4htY7Q99
The lightning burned parts of his clothes, and while Sharkey said he’s very sore, medical tests showed he didn’t sustain any major physical injuries from the lightning strike. He’s looking forward to getting back to cutting lawns in his neighborhood. This time, of course, with safety in mind.
“As sore as I may be, as much as my chest might hurt, I’m just lucky," he said. "I’m really lucky."
He said there were storms nearby, but a nearby lightning alarm siren hadn’t gone off.
“Luckily I’m still here, and hopefully others can learn to look, and even if you’re 99% sure and it’s a one-in-a-million chance, just go inside, you can come back to it later,” said Sharkey.