An Oklahoma Highway Trooper was nearly struck by lightning on July 2 when he was out helping an individual with a trailer, according to a post on the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Facebook.
In the post, the highway trooper in question was out on the Turner Turnpike between Bristow and Stroud, located near Tulsa, Oklahoma, helping an individual on the road after some of their equipment fell off a trailer.
The trooper’s dashboard camera captured the entire event, according to the post.
During the process, as seen in the video, the trooper was walking back from the motorist’s car when a sudden bolt of lightning shot down really close to the trooper, narrowing avoiding him.
The trooper was also heard saying, “Whoa, that was close.” He appeared to have not suffered any injuries from the event.
Death by Lightning
The National Weather Service indicated that as of 2020, there had been four people who have died from being struck by lightning.
Three out of the four fatalities occurred in May across the three states of South Carolina, Florida, and Texas. The fourth fatality occurred in June in Colorado.
In 2019, there were a total of 21 lightning-related casualties, ranging from May all the way to September, according to the National Lightning Safety Council. This is because the majority of the lightning incidents occur during the summer months, as opposed to the few that happen outside of that timeframe, the council says on their website.
Furthermore, between the years 2010 to 2020, there have been a total of 263 deaths from lightning-related incidents—204 of them being male casualties, and 59 of them being female casualties.
The service suggests that the best way to avoid being struck by lightning is to avoid being outside during a thunder storm.
The National Weather Service warns the public that as long as an individual is outside during a storm, they are not safe from the lightning. It also stated that as long as an individual can hear thunder, they are within striking distance.
The service also warns individuals to avoid tall structures and objects if stuck outside. Open fields, hilltops, or ridgetops are also to be avoided, as well as bodies of water, wet items, metal, or similar items, according to the service. Although water and metal do not attract lightning, they are very good conductors of electricity and offer the path of least resistance.
