A North Texas electrician says he heard a loud boom, saw sparks, and then his truck broke down when it was struck by lightning last week. The incident was caught on dash camera footage by another driver. (Video courtesy: Cody Currens via FOX 4 Dallas)
FORT WORTH, Texas – A North Texas electrician says he heard a loud boom, saw sparks, and then his truck broke down when it was struck by lightning last week.
The incident was caught on dash camera footage by another driver.
Garrett Beck is a Fort Worth-based electrician. But nothing from his experience prepared him for what happened.
“I was just looking around in my mirrors trying to figure out what I got hit by before it came out of the sky,” he told FOX 4 Dallas.
The 27-year-old was on the job driving on Interstate 35 near Basswood Boulevard during stormy weather last week when lightning hit his work truck.
LIGHTNING SAFETY: WHEN THUNDER ROARS, EVEN TAKING OUT THE TRASH CAN TURN DEADLY
“I just heard a loud boom,” he said. “I could see sparks shoot off our ladder rack. Our windshield went white for a second. Our honk started blaring, and the windshield washer fluid ran until it was empty.”
A lightning strike hit a truck in Fort Worth, Texas.
(Cody Currens / FOX 4)
Beck later saw dashcam video posted by Cody Currens on social media, capturing the moment the lightning touched the truck.
The lightning bolt left a handful of dents on the ladder rack.
“Right here is a pretty good one,” Beck said as he pointed out burn scars. “And then on the other corner. All the little ones that have little block ring soot around them.”
Burn scars left after a lightning bolt hit a truck in Fort Worth, Texas.
The truck eventually broke down on the side of the interstate. It remains out of commission.
Beck and his colleague, who was in the passenger seat of the truck during the storm, finished their shift that day. Luckily, neither were injured.
“I wish it was on a lottery ticket and not getting struck by lightning,” he said.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE IS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
The lifetime odds of being struck by lightning are only 1 in 15,000, according to the National Weather Service. In any given year, the odds increase to about 1 in 1.2 million.
The odds of winning the Texas lottery are roughly 1 in 300 million.