An Indianapolis Zoo security guard is recovering at home after a lightning bolt hit something near him.
William Kennedy was at work Sunday afternoon, when storms moved into the area. He was behind the administration building when he was indirectly struck by lightning.
“I noticed there was a cloud coming in, but didn’t think anything of it because it wasn’t raining,” Kennedy said.
He does not remember too much about the incident. He does not know what object near him was struck by lightning.
“I started to get on the bike and then I heard the clap, which sounded like, you know, someone threw a bomb near me,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy felt a tingling sensation all over his body before the lightning strike.
“It was like someone pushed me, but that’s pretty much all I remember after that,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy’s wife, Candace, was at home when it happened. She received a call from her husband’s boss.
“His boss said he sounded very calm and he said his vitals were stable, but I was like, I’m a nurse so I thought, I’ll feel better when I see it for myself,” Candace Kennedy said.
Kennedy was not burned. He was taken to Wishard hospital. His left side feels sore.
“It felt really good to know that I had friends out there, when all this happened,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy cannot wait to return to work. He has been an employee with the zoo for five years.
“It’s an amazing job and I’m really fortunate that I have a good job to support my family,” Kennedy said.
The lightening strike coincides with Lightning Awareness Week, which runs from June 23 through June 29. The Indianapolis National Weather Service stresses that this week is about safety preparedness. Meteorologist Jason Puma said most people are killed or struck by lightning, during the summer.
“We like to follow the motto, ‘When thunder roars, go indoors,’” Puma said.
Puma said people need to immediately run into a building or into their car, if they hear thunder. If you cannot seek shelter, do not stand under a tree. Puma said people should crouch down to the ground, but they should not lie down on the ground. People should also try to get away from an open field.
“If you see a flash of lightning you can count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Once you get to five that’s 1 mile. Keep on counting until you hear the thunder, stop counting. When you hear the thunder and do a little division, you can estimate how many miles away the thunder is,” Puma said.
Puma said whenever storms move through an area, thousands upon thousand of lightning strikes can hit the area.
“The (farther) away you are from a lightning strike, the better. Ideally, you want to be in a solid building,” Puma said.
This year, seven people have been killed across the country, due to lightning. Last year, there were 28 fatalities in 17 states.
In 2010, a Hoosier was killed from New Haven. The 18-year-old man was underneath a tree when he was struck by lightning. In 2009, a 10-year-old boy from Indianapolis was killed, running to a car.