A Less Than One-in-a-Million Chance... New York Man Survives Lightning Strike on Way to Dentist

"A sensation I’ve never felt before... a surreal experience"
No significant burn marks found

A man walking on the street in New York, USA, is drawing attention after surviving a lightning strike without sustaining serious injuries.

According to ABC News on September 3 (local time), Thomas Fahmy, a resident of Staten Island, New York City, was suddenly struck by lightning around 4:30 p.m. on August 27 while he was walking down the street.

At the time, Fahmy had just left work and was on his way to a dental appointment. Suddenly, lightning struck his body, and he collapsed to the ground. A doorbell camera nearby captured the exact moment Fahmy was struck and fell.

A man walking down the street in New York, USA, survived a lightning strike without serious injury, becoming a sensation. Photo by ABC News

Describing the incident, Fahmy said, "It was a sensation I’ve never felt before in my life," and added that "it was a surreal experience." He explained that he felt a tingling and prickling sensation all over his body, and his feet, in particular, felt numb. About the incident, he said, "It was like walking on a balloon."

Immediately after the accident, a woman passing by with her child spotted Fahmy calling for help. She brought him into her house and called 911. Fahmy recalled, "I was scared that I might be struck again," and added, "The weather that day was unpredictable and very bad."

After being transported to the hospital, Fahmy was admitted overnight as a precaution. The medical staff conducted a full-body examination and monitored his heart function, but found no significant burn marks on his body. It is reported that the doctors were surprised by his condition. Fahmy said, "I don’t think this was luck but a blessing," adding, "There was a high chance I wouldn’t be here now, but I survived thanks to grace."

Meanwhile, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the chance of a person being struck by lightning is less than one in a million. However, recently, lightning-related fatalities have been occurring one after another in the United States. On August 23, in Margate, Florida, a mother and her two-year-old child were killed by lightning, and on August 22, a father of four from Utah died after being struck by lightning while riding a jet ski in Florida.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.