SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A 17-year-old was struck by lightning Monday afternoon while he was cutting grass in Seminole County, officials said.
Daniel Sharkey, who was featured on News 6 two years ago when he was honored with the Getting Results Award, was taken to a hospital, where he spoke to reporter Catherine Silver on Tuesday.
Sharkey said he was trimming grass at his neighbor’s house when he saw a storm in the distance.
“I was just trying to wrap up before I headed out, so it was only a few minutes,” Sharkey said. “I felt like I had 10 to 20 minutes before everything started and it was just, like, ‘Bam!’”
Sharkey said he was knocked out.
“The next thing I know I wake up face down in a puddle, and I’m trying to scream but I’m incapable of screaming,” he said. “I was rolling around, just waiting for someone to find me. And I’m sure this only took seconds, but it felt like an eternity.”
At first, Sharkey didn’t know that he had been struck by lightning.
“You never expect something as crazy as a lightning strike,” he said. When I first came to, I thought I might have passed out from the heat or something, but then I was like, ‘Things don’t line up. Everything hurts.’ I couldn’t really feel my extremities at that time. I couldn’t talk.”
Sharkey’s family shared photos that show marks from the lightning strike on the teen’s arms.
In 2022, Sharkey was recognized by News 6 for his “Cans Over Candy” initiative. In short, instead of collecting candy for Halloween, Sharkey and his family collect canned goods for those less fortunate.
“A few days later, we drop (the food) off at Second Harvest food bank,” Sharkey said two years ago.
Sharkey said some of his friends also help out, and the initiative has become a tradition in the neighborhood.
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