'He just got blasted': Nanoose man unhurt after lightning strike
A Nanoose couple are now ready to purchase a lottery ticket after one of them was inside a vehicle that was struck by lightning Wednesday afternoon.
Wendy Mazzei says her husband Terry had just arrived in the parking lot of the Fairwinds Wellness Club, turned off the ignition of his truck and was about to open the door when lightning struck.
“He just got blasted,” Mazzei says. “He said it was a huge explosion and sound. It was pretty crazy. I’m so thankful that he’s here to tell me about it.”
Mazzei says Terry was uninjured by the incident, but was understandably shaken.
“His ears were kind of ringing, it was the right front passenger tire that blew out, so his right ear was a bit sore and he had a bit of a headache, but other than that he was good, thank goodness,” she says.
She says they don’t want to think about what could have happened had Terry actually been outside when the event occurred.
“We like to think that his father was watching over him,” Mazzei says. “His father passed away in 2016 and this is his father’s truck that he drives and he has a picture of his father in the visor right above where he drives and so we like to think that his father was watching over him.”
There is one person connected to the Mazzei family that is impressed by Terry’s ordeal.
“Our grandson thinks this is pretty cool; he thinks (Terry) might have super powers now and he’s calling (Terry) Flash,” Mazzei says.
Mazzei says when the tree behind her husband’s pickup was struck, the lightning travelled down to his pickup as well as a GMC Sierra owned by Wellness Club employee Cathrine Eriksson that was parked two stalls over.
"When the lightning strike hit us, which was obviously right outside our building, my first concern was for our work computers,” Eriksson says. “Unbeknownst to me, my truck was the one that was actually struck."
Her truck had to be towed for servicing and won't start, but her wipers and brake and backup lights won't shut off.
She says her husband was dealing with an insurance adjuster over the damage and indicated that she'd never seen anything like it before in her 16 years.
According to meteorologist Armel Castellan, of Environment and Climate Change Canada, vehicles offer a “next best tier of shelter” in thunderstorms if you can't seek shelter inside.
"Because they're insulated from the ground, there's not going to be a way for the static charge to make its way through the vehicle,” Castellan says. “Often that can be a good insulator."
Castellan says there were approximately lightning 40 strikes on Wednesday in the Lantzville/Nanoose Bay Area. Half were cloud to cloud strikes and 18 were cloud to ground.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.