Have You Seen This? Harrowing video shows man surviving lightning strike

THE YARD — Thomas Fahmy might be the luckiest man alive, and this harrowing video shows exactly why.

A video circulating online shows Fahmy holding an umbrella as he walks down a street in Staten Island, New York, last week, when a bolt of lightning struck the tree he was about to walk under.

He immediately tumbled to the ground, but he was able to get up and walk to a neighboring home, where a neighbor offered assistance.

A man was struck by lightning while walking on a sidewalk in Staten Island, New York, on Aug. 27. pic.twitter.com/2cmsGIGlM8
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 2, 2026

Fahmy told NBC 4 New York, KSL's New York City affiliate, that he was about 15 to 25 feet from his car when he saw the bright flash and felt an intense shock throughout his body, causing him to fall down.

"This very intense burning sensation. Tingling, numbness, pain, severe pain, in both my feet," he told the station, adding that he never lost consciousness.

Fahmy, a congressional staffer, said he spent the following evening at the hospital, but was released the next day with no major injuries or visible burns.

"I went on church Sunday to say thank you, God," he told WABC, another New York outlet.

The stunning video has also sparked conversations about lightning safety. The National Weather Service points out that no place is safe when there are thunderstorms in the area, adding that people should not seek shelter under an isolated tree, among other things.

The odds of being struck by lightning are less than 1 in a million, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency adds that approximately 90% of people who do get struck survive, but the U.S. averaged two dozen lightning deaths every year over the past two decades.