A Utah teen miraculously survived being struck by lightning after he was discovered unconscious throughout a church hike, crediting “divine intervention” for preserving him alive.
Jacob Johnson,18, was mountaineering Salina Canyon with 50 different teenagers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Thursday when the thunderbolt hit the group, in line with KSL TV.
“We began to hike, and it began to return down fairly exhausting. I bear in mind pondering like, ‘That is type of a bit of scary,’” Johnson recalled to the outlet.
Footage captured the second an earth-shaking crack struck close to Johnson, who had been strolling alongside a muddy route throughout the rain bathe.
The teenager hikers screamed in concern and confusion, with a number of of them shouting, “I simply obtained hit.”
Because the group tried to regain its bearings, one of many hikers may be heard off digital camera, saying, “Jacob Johnson and I simply obtained hit. I’m okay, however he’s not doing too properly.”
The digital camera pans right down to Johnson, seemingly unconscious and mendacity immobile on the bottom with a black rubbish bag wrapped round his physique.
“I bear in mind it felt like a baseball bat had simply been swung into my head. And I flew ahead, and I blacked out,” Johnson stated.
The teenager remembers waking up in a daze, pondering that he had died.
“I used to be pondering, you already know, is that this it? You recognize, did I simply die? I used to be occupied with all of the issues that I nonetheless needed to perform in my life,” Johnson stated.
“I simply had an amazing sense of affection from my Heavenly Father as a result of I knew I had extra to do on this world and from that second on, I knew I used to be going to be okay.”
Johnson, together with six different teenagers, have been then rushed to the hospital, in line with the outlet.
The 18-year-old suffered a minor concussion and was launched a couple of hours later.
“It’s really a miracle, contemplating the circumstances,” Johnson instructed the outlet. “There needed to be some divine intervention as a result of there’s no manner that, you already know, I simply get knocked out on the bottom, and the following day, I’m completely positive.”
However he believes his religion saved him protected throughout the harrowing ordeal.
“When now we have religion, religion in our God that we are able to get by these issues, that’s what I’ve realized,” Johnson stated.
The moist floor acted as a conductor for the lightning, inflicting a number of teenagers to really feel the shock, in line with the outlet.
Salina Canyon is about 140 miles outdoors of Salt Lake Metropolis.
Round 300 folks a yr can be struck by lightning in america — with a median of 86 folks being fatally hit, in line with the Nationwide Climate Service.
The common particular person has a 1-in-600,000 probability of being struck by lightning throughout their lifetime.
Even the weakest thunderstorms can produce lightning, and most deadly strikes occur whereas the sufferer is mountaineering, swimming, or taking part in golf, in line with the company.
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