Watch: Aussie tradie lucky to survive as ute hit by lightning while driving on rural road
The Aussie tradesman found himself stuck in the middle of a lightning storm as he drove home from a job on Sunday afternoon. Speaking to Yahoo News about potentially life-altering moment, he recalled how he'd just remarked to himself at how bad the weather conditions were on the rural road when he felt a thunderous bang inside his ute.
"It just whacked the roof of the car, and I thought all four tires blew up, or an elephant landed on me," he said.
Instead, the 57-year-old had just been struck by a bolt of lightning.
Thankfully, Michael felt no electric shock, but he did start to smell smoke. His car horn started blaring, and all of the car's lights were now flashing. He dashed out of the ute, and the doors automatically locked as he stood outside in the elements. With all of his tools inside, he quickly smashed a window and frantically grabbed the equipment as smoke filled the car.
"I then saw flames coming from the dash, and it was then that I started to panic a bit," he said. "It was just unbelievable."
Within minutes, his ute was engulfed in flames.
Michael watched on with his tools by his side, phoning the fire and rescue services in nearby Cooma, in New South Wales, for assistance.
Standing on the rural road, Michael captured a video from his phone as his ute sat in flames nearby, sending thick, black smoke into the air.
"Here's me old ute, struck by lightning", he can be heard saying in the footage. "She's about buggered."
The NSW Rural Fire Service told Yahoo News eight firefighters and four firetrucks attended the scene, with the cause of the fire confirmed to be a lightning strike.
"It was definitely lightning," Michel said. "Can't say I had any bombs on me at the time," he joked.
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Michael bought a lottery ticket the following morning, and is hoping to continue his lucky streak — since the odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 12,000, according to Australia Wide First Aid.
"My wallet burned to cinder, that was still in the ute," he explained. "I never have cash in my wallet as well... there was at least a couple of hundred [dollars] in there."
But overall, he is beyond relieved to have lived to tell the tale, confessing to Yahoo that the magnitude of the incident still hasn't sunk in yet.
"Guess I've got to buy another bloody ute now," he joked.
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