‘I was in shock’: Driver of Fort Worth truck hit by lightning said. What are the odds?
Garrett Beck recently had the scare of his life.
He was driving his work truck down Interstate 35 in Fort Worth with a colleague riding shotgun. News of impending thunderstorms had been all over the news last Thursday morning. Rain was already falling. The roads were slick. But work goes on — the electricians were on their way to a supply store.
Then — Bam! — lightning strikes.
“I was just cruising and then I heard a super loud boom to the windshield,” Beck told the Star-Telegram. “I saw some sparks shoot off on my driver side mirror and then the truck’s horn started going off. Windshield washer fluid was spraying and all types of warning lights began lighting up. There was really no time to think.”
The whole episode was even caught on a dashboard-mounted camera.
What are the odds?
Well, there is a 1 in 775,000 chance that someone may be hit by lightning in any given year, according to the National Weather Service. Texas had the most lightning strikes in all of the U.S. last year with 42.4 million, per statista.com. Add to the equation the fact that we are currently in the middle of tornado season, and the odds are very good indeed.
Beck managed to limp along a little further but had to eventually pull over.
“I was in shock,” he said.
How video of the lightning strike was captured
The electrician’s brush with near-death was captured on video in its entirety.
Cody Currens, a fleet manager for a company in Fort Worth, was monitoring his fleet’s dashboard-mounted cameras from his office when lightning struck.
“The driver who was in the vehicle immediately called me,” Currens said. “He told me, ‘Pull the footage’.”
What Currens saw startled him.
“We get interesting things like this,” he said.
But it’s not every day you see a lightning strike.
He had to share the dramatic scene. He quickly posted a clip of the action to one of his social media channels. It caught the eye of several media outlets in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including the Star-Telegram. He was inundated with requests to use his footage.
Of course, he agreed to share.
Why not? This was his nanosecond of fame — not that he was seeking the limelight.
Shock and disbelief inside the truck
Meanwhile, in the cab of the truck, a shaken Beck could not believe what had just happened. He turned to his colleague seated next to him for confirmation.
“I looked at my co worker and said, ‘Dude, did we really just get struck by lightning?’,” he remembers asking.
Then, as if on cue, the truck’s engine sputters and dies.
“I called my company and they came to get me,” he said. “The car is totaled now. Everything happened so fast.“
What to know if lightning strikes you
More storms are expected to hit North Texas as early as Tuesday night. Bad weather is sticking around for a few days, according to the weather service. There will be more lightning, thunder, hail and even tornadoes.
The danger of lightning strikes are ever present as storms roll through the region. Lightning can cause extreme body pain and memory loss, according to Mayo Clinic. It can also cause significant damage to a vehicle, primarily to the electrical system, tires or antenna.
Though Beck’s scare is rare, it begs the question of what one should do to stay safe in the middle of a thunderstorm. Here are a few tips from a fleet and collision management company, CEI Network.
1. Stop: pull over, turn on hazard lights, close the windows.
2. Find a safe location: avoid trees, telephone poles, tall or metal objects, and areas at risk for flooding.
3. Stay in the car: The best defense is to drive a hard-top with all of the windows closed.
4. Avoid metal: keep your hands folded in your lap to make sure you are not in contact with anything that could conduct electricity. This includes your phone and radio.
If your vehicle is struck, experts recommend reporting the incident to your accident management provider so they can schedule an inspection. In case of an emergency, call 911.
This story was originally published May 21, 2024 at 6:04 PM.
