A woman has captured the terrifying moment her husband’s truck was struck by lightning while on holiday in Florida.
Michaelle Whalen was driving behind her husband Edward on their way back to their hotel in Tampa on Friday, 1 July when a stray bolt of lightning hit his vehicle on the I-75 outside St. Petersburg and sent sparks flying off its roof.
By chance, Whalen had been filming the thunderstorm when she captured the heart-stopping moment, which has now been viewed almost 900,000 times on Twitter.
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Watch the shocking moment below:
In the shocking footage, Michaelle could be heard screaming as the bolt bounced off her other half’s truck causing flames and sparks to flash before her windscreen.
Social media users commented in their droves under the viral clip and shared their well wishes to the family.
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One penned: "OMG, that clip scared the crap out of me. Never mind being the one behind the wheel! I am thankful you (or whoever was driving) is ok!"
"Holy moly," another wrote. "Thats very very close how are they? Hoping the people inside the car are all ok.. OMG!"
A fourth quipped: "Might be a good day for them to buy lottery tickets."
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"OMG! That was a close call," another remarked.
Luckily, nobody was hurt in the strike, but Edward admitted the bolt left his truck 'completely fried'.
Recalling his terrifying dice with mother nature, Edward told WFLA News Channel 8: "You could feel a slight buzz in the car when it hit us, and then my oldest daughter was sitting next to me and she jumped halfway in my lap and screamed."
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He also revealed that he and his passengers were left 'really confused' and suffered 'bad headaches' after the loud strike.
It comes as no surprise that Edward’s car was left 'fried' as the National Weather Service reports that lightning strikes usually cause severe damage to cars, often frying the electrical system and shattering windows and destroying tires.
Debunking the myth that rubber tires offer protection from strikes, it wrote on its website that the 'outer metal shell of hard-topped metal vehicles does provide protection to those inside a vehicle with the windows closed.'
The agency explains that lightning can pass through tires’ steel belts and into the ground.
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Lisa McLoughlin