From the Lehigh Valley News (PA)

Fair use: for educational and research purposes only.

Three zaps too many

Lightning strikes 24-year-old Moore Twp. man at Musikfest. He had been jolted twice before.

08/14/01

By NICOLE RADZIEVICH Of The Morning Call

For Kevin Parent of Moore Township, lightning doesn't strike twice.

It strikes three times.

For the third time in five years, Parent was struck by lightning on Sunday, this time while walking to his car from Musikfest in Bethlehem.

Parent, 24, first was struck on Aug. 17, 1996, while delivering ice for the Bethlehem Ice Service in Allentown. He was struck again on May 10, 2000, while loading ice into a store's cooler in Danielsville.

The most recent electrical current to hit Parent came at 7:30 p.m. Sunday while he pushed his two youngest children in a stroller in Bethlehem.

Parent and other family members said Monday he was about 10 feet from his car, parked at New and Fairview streets, when he felt a flash of light go through his body.

"I fell to my knees and lost my memory for a while," Parent said. "When I regained my memory, I remember shaking really bad. I had a hot spell and wanted to take my T-shirt off."

His wife, Carolynn, said she felt a tingling sensation when her husband leaned against her.

Parent's father, Frank, of Nazareth, put him in the car as he waited for an ambulance.

A St. Luke's Hospital spokeswoman said Parent was treated and released Sunday.

Kevin Parent said the hospital found damaged tissue in his blood -- a sign that lightning, which packs a punch of 35,000-40,000 amps, struck him. He said he has no other damage except some inconsistent soreness in his hip.

"I've been pretty lucky," Parent said. "The next one could kill me."

Lightning first hit Parent while he was delivering ice on S. Fourth Street in Allentown. He had been wearing rubber sole hiking boots while standing in a puddle, he said.

He was hit again last year while loading ice into the cooler outside Miller's Market in Danielsville. Parent, wearing sneakers this time, sustained a scar on his left knuckle.

The strikes propelled Parent into a world ruled by The Weather Channel and local news reports. Parent said he stays indoors whenever a storm rolls into town.

On Friday, when GPU Energy was working to restore power to 9,000 eastern Pennsylvania customers because of the thunderstorm, Parent said he was trying to work past his fears by unloading ice during the storm.

He said he did not put himself at risk because he was inside the truck handing the ice outside.

Two days later, he took his wife, three children and parents to enjoy Musikfest when a storm hit. Shortly after eating at Heaven on a Bun, the family saw two or three bolts of lightning.

They headed to the car.

"Never again. I won't let this happen again," Parent said. "When it's raining, I won't be going outside."

His decision, he said, is not only for his own safety, but also for his family's. His wife said his children -- Deanna, 3½ months, Kenan, 1½ years, and Steven, 5 years -- were shaken up by seeing him leave in an ambulance.

She said the children were not hurt, but they remember what happened.

Frank Parent said he wants his son to seek counseling because three lightning strikes is a lot for one person to deal with.

Nearly 100 people are killed by lightning each year and hundreds more are injured, according to the Lightning Protection Institute in Arlington Heights, Ill.

The National Weather Service statistics say the average annual per capita strike rate in the United States is one in 600,000. That figure does not reveal one's chances of being struck because it does not take into account geography and other circumstances.

To be safe, the institute suggests that when you're outside, never stand near a tree, areas higher than surrounding landscape, metal objects such as bicycles and golf carts, tall objects and bodies of water.

If you feel a tingling sensation or your hair stands on end, lightning may be about to strike and you should get into a crouched position and cover your ears, the institute advises.

The National Weather Service counted 644 lightning casualties from 1959 to 1994 in the Keystone State -- second only to Florida and Michigan. Of those, 109 were fatal.

A National Weather Service and National Severe Storms Laboratory study suggests men are four times as likely as women to be struck.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), August 14, 2001

Answers

Bummer!

He's one up on me now.........

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), August 14, 2001.

chances of being struck by lightning

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), August 14, 2001.

I'd have rather won the damned lottery too!

Street lights and watch batteries don't stand much of a chance any longer....

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), August 14, 2001.

Deano:

Don't remember the details, but I remember an interview with a ranger in West Virginia a few months ago. He had been struck by lightening 7 times as I remember.

What we need to do is figure out why and be different. *<)))

Best Wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), August 14, 2001.

Z

SEVEN TIMES??!! Jeeeezus!

I had one direct hit as a kid (1970 maybe??) tubing down the Sante Fe River and one indirect hit(?, it hit a tree I was near and knocked me on my ass) about 8 years ago or so.

July 4th the wife and I were at Camanchee Cove in St Augustine and a severe storm came down the Intracoastal. We were sitting on the balcony, watching this awesome light show, and one hits the telephone pole right off the balcony. Fried everything in the hotel.

Needless to say lightening scares the living shit outa me!

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), August 14, 2001.

Z,

I'm not sure if this is the same individual, but I remember reading about an older man who also had been struck by lightening 7 times. I believe that the article was written at least 10 years ago, and remember reading about the different personal items (clothes and a watch) that had been melted by the heat.

The statement I remember the most was that whenever there was a thunderstorm, he always had the other family members stay at the opposite end of the house, away from him.

-- Deb Mc (not@this.time.pls), August 14, 2001.