17-year-old lightning strike survivor in Altamonte Springs to be released from hospital

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — A 17-year-old who was struck by lightning on Monday is recuperating in the hospital.

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The lightning strike happened in Altamonte Springs.

Born and raised in Central Florida, Daniel Sharkey mowed his neighbor’s lawn as he does every week.

He noticed a storm coming, so he rushed to get it done ahead of time.

Read: ‘It’s a miracle’: 17-year-old struck by lightning in Altamonte Springs shares his story

“It was coming, and I could definitely hear some thunder in the distance, but it sounded far away,” said Sharkey from his hospital bed. “I thought it was at least about 20 miles away from me.”

Channel 9 was the first to speak with the teen a few hours after the strike.

A day later, he was surprised to hear he would soon be released from the hospital.

Read: Central Florida could see strong to severe storms

“It surprises me that I’m feeling this good,” said Sharkey. “I didn’t know anything about lightning strikes. I would have thought I would have been doing much worse. I’m just glad that I’m here; I’m stable.”

Surveillance video caught the moment when neighbors rushed in panic to help.

“I was in the kitchen. I looked out the window and saw him lying on the ground. I yelled to my son, ‘Oh my god, Daniel’s been hit,” said Angelina Tolbert, the neighbor whose lawn Sharkey was mowing.

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“I come out there; he is squirming back and forth on the ground,” said Mandel Floyd, the first to spring into action after the strike. “I go to reach down, and the neighbor across the street tells me not to touch him.”

Despite the concern, experts say it’s OK to touch a person struck by lightning. In fact, after calling 911, you should check to see if they need CPR.

“The greatest concern is that it may cause the heart to stop, may the man or person may go into cardiac arrest, and it may be necessary to initiate CPR or use a defibrillator to get the heart going again,” said John Jensenius, with the National Lightning Safety Council.

According to the National Lightning Safety Council, six people have died after lightning strikes in America this year alone.

Florida leads the nation with the highest number of incidents on record, and there’s a reason for it.

“In order to get thunderstorms, you need a combination of factors. First of all, you need heat, humidity, and moisture, and then you need a triggering mechanism. And in Florida, you have all those things,” said Jensenius. “You have an atmosphere that becomes unstable because of the heating during the day. And often you have a sea breeze or a front that goes through that triggers the thunderstorms.”

The expert explains that the best way to be safe when a thunderstorm is approaching is to stay indoors until at least 30 minutes after the storm passed – that’s because the heavy clouds could linger and lighting strikes can still occur.

“When thunder roars go indoors, just simply follow that simple saying, it would prevent a lot of lightning deaths and injuries,” said Jensenius.

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