Friday, July 01, 2011

Man struck by lightning for sixth time

A Seneca man has again disproved the old adage about lightning never striking the same place twice after being struck for the sixth time on Monday. Melvin Roberts, 58, is recovering at Oconee Memorial Hospital after being struck at his home in Seneca on Monday. His wife, Martha Roberts, said that her husband was outside trying to cover his lawn mower when he was struck. Neighbours found Roberts lying unconscious in the yard.

Melvin Roberts said he was struck several times over the last several years, and in the last case in 2007, it was not even raining when it happened. Robert said, "I went to cover my chickens up, and I believe it was clear. But when I woke up, I was all bloody and burned and confused and had my little chickens lying with their feet up."


YouTube link.

Roberts carries a scar on his head from the first time and scars on his legs from the 2007 strike. That strike left him with nerve damage to his left leg and he spent more than a year in a wheelchair. This time he has a wound on his foot and blisters on his ankles. Roberts had to give up his work as a heavy equipment operator due to injuries from previous lightning strikes that have left him permanently disabled.

He said that his love life has paralleled his experience with lightning, but that’s about to change. Roberts said, “I've been married five times and I've been hit by lightning five times. (My wife) says this is the sixth time. I'm not leaving my wife, so I'm going to have to try to do something different."

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