A Staten Island man who works for Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) survived a direct lightning strike on August 27 while walking near his car on Todt Road, an encounter caught on a neighbor’s surveillance camera.
Thomas Fahmy was carrying an umbrella as he passed a neighbor’s home when the strike knocked him to the ground, according to footage reported by NBC New York on Tuesday. He got back up moments later, and the neighbor, who witnessed the strike, told him she was calling an ambulance while he climbed onto her porch.
Fahmy described the sensation afterward: “This very intense burning sensation. Tingling, numbness, pain, severe pain, in both my feet.” He never lost consciousness and had no visible burns.
He was taken to a local hospital and kept overnight for observation before being released. “No burns. I had multiple body exams, no burns at all,” Fahmy said. “I went to church Sunday to say, ‘Thank you, God.'”
AccuWeather data showed thunderstorms moved through the area that afternoon, with 10 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes recorded within two miles of the intersection where Fahmy was hit. The closest of those strikes occurred between 12:41 p.m. and 1:07 p.m., with another strike registered around the time Fahmy was struck.
Rare but not unheard of
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes there are more than 8 million lightning strikes worldwide every day, and about 37 million strike the ground in the United States each year. The agency says the odds of being struck in a given year are less than one in a million, and nearly 90 percent of victims survive.
Rep. Malliotakis said in a statement Monday that her office was relieved Fahmy was “alive and well.” “I thank the good Samaritan who ran to his aid and the medical staff at Staten Island University Hospital who treated him,” she said.
Fahmy said the experience has reshaped how he views daily life. “Just to appreciate life, smile and breathe fresh air once in a while and don’t let life overwhelm you,” he said.
