Since we were young, we’ve been told to come inside if lightning is around during a rainstorm. There has always been a healthy fear of lightning due in part to stories of people being severely injured or killed by lightning. This is all true until you hear the story of Roy Sullivan, the man who had been struck by lightning seven times and survived.
Roy Sullivan
On February 7, 1912, Roy Sullivan was born in Greene County, Virginia, where he lived and worked most of his life. While Roy died in September 1983, it wasn’t the result of lightning’s attraction to his body. Before he passed away, Roy worked as a park ranger at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
Lightning Strikes
Between 1942 and 1977, Roy claimed to have been struck by lightning on seven separate occasions, surviving all of them. These claims gave him the nickname “Human Lightning Conductor” and would help him gain recognition from the Guinness World Records as the person struck by lightning more than any other human being.
First Strike
The first strike was said to have taken place in April 1942 as Roy was hiding from a storm in a fire lookout tower. As the tower had no lightning rod, it was struck several times, causing a fire and forcing Roy to leave the building where he was struck by lightning, burning a half-inch strip on his right leg.
Second Strike
Roy’s second lightning strike wouldn’t occur until July 1969, when he was struck while driving his truck. Roy claims the body of his truck didn’t protect him after the lightning hit a nearby tree and deflected into the open window of his vehicle, knocking him unconscious and burning off his eyebrows.
Third Strike
The third occasion occurred in July 1970, when Roy was in his front yard when lightning hit a power transformer and bounced into his left shoulder.
Fourth Strike
It was the spring of 1972, and Roy was working inside a ranger station while at work. He was struck again with his hair catching fire. After this incident, Roy developed a healthy fear of thunderstorms and pulled over his truck while driving and lay down in the front seat until a storm passed.
Fifth Strike
On August 7, 1973, Roy was doing his patrol rounds while in the park when he saw a storm cloud formation and quickly left the area. After believing the storm cloud had left, he left his truck but was quickly struck by a lightning bolt that knocked off his shoes.
Sixth Strike
On June 5, 1976, Roy injured his ankle, and it was then that he saw a storm cloud appear overhead when he was struck with lightning. For the third time, his hair caught fire.
Seventh Strike
Roy’s last and final lightning strike occurred on June 25, 1977, when he was struck while fishing in a freshwater pool. Hitting the top of his head, the lightning set his hair on fire (again) and also burned his chest and stomach.
Lightning Statistics
When you consider that between 1959 and 2000, lightning killed only 3,239 people and injured 13,057, the odds of being struck by lightning are extremely small. Even though the Shenandoah National Park superintendent documented Roy’s strikes, there were never any witnesses.
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