ALABAMA: Safely the luckiest man of the hour, a driver in the Alabama state of the United States narrowly avoided death after a tree, struck by lightning itself, crashed into his car while he sat in the driver’s seat.
The incident happened when Henri Cheramie, a 37-year-old man, drove his car during a storm earlier this month.
According to the media reports following the incident, Henri took a peek through his sunroof to check the intensity of the storm but before he could flinch a heavy thud on his vehicle completely damaged the upper body of his black sedan.
The giant tree branch landed across the front windows but luckily, Henri was just in the right position to avoid being crushed. Had he snuck out of his sunroof just a second earlier, he could have died.
“I see lightning just arc across the sky and hit a tree. I lean a bit and go ‘did lightning just strike that’ and the next thing I know, half of my body is out of the sunroof and the top of the car is being weighed down by a giant branch that is bisected just where my face is,” Henri told the media.
He recalled that a powerline exploded behind him, sending electrical sparks in all directions. Fortunately, it happened at a good distance from his car.
“When that happened, electricity just sparked and everything lit up and I heard the power line pop and that’s when I started yelling for help. I didn’t want to die,” said Henri.
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Henri’s car was spotted by landscrapers, who called 911 for help.
Later, firefighters assisted Henri in exiting the damaged car.
Remarkably, he had only minor cuts and bruises and didn’t need an ambulance.
