Lightning strike survivors discuss what it's like to be hit with 1billion volts

28 January 2024 , 07:43

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Six bolts of lightning hit opposite the Whitehouse in Washington, US

The survivors of near-fatal lightning strikes have revealed what it feels like to be hit with one billion volts of electrical current.

The odds of being struck by lightning are less than one in a million despite 40 million strikes hitting the ground in the US every year. And in 2023 were 19 deaths from lightning bolts, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) saying men are four times likely to be hit than women.

Lightning strike survivor Amber Escudero-Kontostathis survived a 950-million volt lightning strike opposite the White House in August which killed three others. Although she survived, the freak August 4 weather, it fried her nerves and stopped her heart. Here we look at some of the lucky survivors who grappled with death after being hit by strikes.

Amber Escudero-Kontostathis, was in Washington DC when six bolts of lightning hit the area (Threshold Giving)

Jacob Brewer

Jacob Brewer, 15, was clinically dead for about an hour after he was struck by lightning, but has started to learn to walk again. He wasn't carrying metal and was not the sole person on the beach. But he was hit in the chest by a lightning bolt which led to him foaming at the mouth before turning purple. CPR attempts were carried out by paramedics who didn't expect him to survive the night. And doctors hooked him up with a ventilator, but he survived and the lightning strike left him with burn marks across his body.

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Jacob Brewer wasn't carrying metal and was not the sole person on the beach (Youtube)

Roy C. Sullivan

Miraculously, Virginia park ranger Roy C. Sullivan has been hit by a lightning bolt seven times. The first occasion was in April 1942 when he was hit in the leg and leaving him with scorch marks as a reminder of how close he came to death. Roy was hit on several other occasions between 1969 and 1977 and was earned him the nickname 'Spark Ranger'. He died at the age of 71 - but not from a lightning strike.

Melvin Roberts

Melvin Roberts, however, claims to have been struck by lightning 11 times despite scepticism from experts and the Guinness World Records. Mr Roberts told reporter Denham Hitchcock in 2015. "It's like being stalked." The incidents happened over years and experts took his claims with a pinch of salt. But following the strikes he recalled how any food he ate would taste like Sulphur. Roberts' wife said she had witnessed nine of the strikes on her husband.

National Park Ranger Roy C. Sullivan (Wiki Commons)

Justin Gauger

Justin Gauger was sent flying 50 feet before landing on his face, after he was struck by lightning. He told the Las Vegas Sun how he spotted "a ball of light" before darkness came over him. He was left paralysed for six hours and, in the following years, made an astonishing recovery. The strike left him with burns and fractured vertebrae on his spine. He has also suffered "bad depression, anger issues, joint swelling, neuropathy, memory issues, word recall issues, PTSD."

Kimberly Krone

A lightning bolt shot through a light in her kitchen and hit the frying pan she was holding. It hit her in the chest in front of her children. She said: "I picked it [the frying pan] up like this and I moved it over, and before I could even get it to this hand, the lightning came through the recessed light. I can remember the pain, I can remember the burning smell – I felt one fire, and all I could think of was I wish it would hurry up and end." Kimberley suffered from seizures, and her nervous system shut down after the strike. She told ABC News that she sensed looming storms which caused her chest to hurt, as well as the feeling of a weaker left side of the body compared to the right. She still has dizzy spells and hot flushes after her ordeal.

Kimberley Krone suffered seizures and her nervous system shut down after the lightning strike (The Weather ChannelYoutube)

Jaime Santana

Jaime Santana was hit by bolt of lightning which hit him and his horse in 2016. His brother-in-law, Alex Torres, witnessed his chest on fire, leading him and others to pat out the flames before a neighbour gave him CPR. His horse did not survive the strike but is believed to have taken half of the force of the strike - which possibly saved Santana's life. Following the strike, he had numerous emergency surgeries after 17% of his body suffered third degree burns. He also had heart failure and brain trauma, leading to a 131-day stint in hospital. The strike victim used a wheelchair throughout his recovery, but felt the health impacts of the strike more than two years later.

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Jaime Santana was burned on 17% of his body (ABC15 Arizona)

Winston Kemp

Winston Kemp, 24, was struck by lightning in a storm in 2011 and it left an unusual mark. The electrician saw and heard the "bright and loud" bolt hit his neighbour's yard. But he didn't realise he had been struck until after he went back inside and spotted strange arm marks. He didn't seek medical attention, other than speaking to his mom who worked as a nurse. He told Gear Diary that "gruesome blisters" from from strike's force had now turned into feint scars. He added that he experienced "dull, stabbing pain" a year after he had been hit.

Graeme Murray