Deadly lightning bolt strikes motorist, shatters helmet
A North Carolina man has died in Florida after being struck by lightning while riding down the interstate on Sunday, according to local authorities.
The Florida Highway Patrol posted a photo on social media showing that the lightning bolt had shattered the motorist's helmet.
“This is what’s left of a 45 year old [sic] man’s helmet after he was struck by lightning, while riding his motorcycle southbound, on I-95 in Volusia County this afternoon. Unfortunately, he did not survive the crash,” authorities wrote in the caption.
Florida sees more lightning strikes each year than any other state and has 3,500 cloud to ground lightning flashes per day according to AccuWeather.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that being outside when lightning is occurring is never something that can be taken likely since lightning most often strikes people that are outdoors during the storm.
If you are caught outside when lightning is present it is safest to stay in a non-concrete shelter or your car until the storm passes. If no shelter is available, crouching low with as little of your body touching the ground is the next best option.
The odds of being struck by lightning in a given year is approximately 1 in 500,000 and there have been over 2,000 lightning injuries have occurred in the past 50 years in Florida, according to the CDC.
