Teenager Struck By Lightning Gives Safety Message To Others

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — A teenager struck by lightning in Altamonte Springs Monday night is recovering at home and describing the frightening experience he had.

Daniel Sharkey says he was trying to mow his neighbor’s lawn when lightning struck a nearby tree — and him.

What do you want to know?

Daniel Sharkey says he was trying to mow his neighbor’s lawn when lightning struck a nearby tree – and he

Sharkey said the impact threw him several meters and knocked him unconscious for a while.

He says he is in a lot of pain, but fortunately medical tests have shown he has not suffered any serious physical injuries from the lightning strike.

He said there were thunderstorms nearby, but a nearby lightning alarm siren had not gone off.

Sharkey said the impact threw him several feet away and knocked him unconscious for a moment. He said he felt as if he had lost his breath, which prevented him from screaming for help in the moments that followed.

“I know I was moving my mouth, but I don’t think I could have said anything,” he said. “I was maybe trying to say ‘help me’ and I was trying to scream it, but it was coming out very faintly. There was a moment in my head where I thought, ‘This whole situation is just a dream and I’m going to wake up in my bed. Or I’m dead.’”

The lightning burned off parts of his clothing, and while Sharkey said he was in severe pain, medical tests showed he suffered no serious physical injuries from the lightning. He’s looking forward to getting back to mowing lawns in his neighborhood. This time, of course, with safety in mind.

“Even though I’m in pain, even though my chest hurts, I’m just lucky,” he said. “I’m really lucky.”

He said there were thunderstorms nearby, but a storm warning siren had not yet sounded.

“Luckily I’m still here, and hopefully others can learn to look, and even if you’re 99 percent sure and it’s a one in a million chance, just go inside, you can come back to it later,” Sharkey said.