STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (VINnews) — A 24-year-old Staten Island man who survived being struck by an electrical charge from lightning is speaking out about the frightening experience, which was caught on video.
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Thomas Fahmy of New Springville told the Staten Island Advance that he was walking to his car Thursday afternoon after leaving work when lightning struck nearby on Todt Hill Road in Castleton Corners.
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Fahmy, a staffer in Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ Staten Island district office, said he was about 15 to 20 feet from his vehicle when he suddenly felt the electrical charge and was knocked to the ground.
“I didn’t even have a chance to step back,” Fahmy told the Advance.
He remained conscious and was able to get back up before calling for help and moving away from the area, concerned another lightning strike could follow.
A nearby Nest surveillance camera captured the frightening moment. The video shows Fahmy walking along the sidewalk with an umbrella before a bright flash appears and he suddenly falls out of view.
A woman in a nearby home heard Fahmy calling for help and came outside with a young child. She brought him toward her home and called 911.
Fahmy was taken to Staten Island University Hospital, where doctors found remarkably little physical evidence of the lightning strike. He was kept overnight for observation and released the following day.
Fahmy told the Advance that the experience has given him a new perspective on life and reminded him that some things are simply beyond his control.
“In politics, you kind of forget sometimes that there’s something bigger than you,” he said. “There is a power greater than you.”
Fahmy said he hopes others will take his experience as a reminder to remain alert during dangerous weather and not take life for granted.
For now, he said, he is simply grateful that after being knocked to the ground by lightning, he was able to get back up.
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