‘Wow’: See the damage caused after lightning struck this SUV during storm in Broward
A driver had a scary experience traveling on Alligator Alley during a heavy rainstorm in Broward County late Monday morning.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a blue 2018 Nissan Rogue was going west around 11:30 a.m. on Interstate 75 around mile marker 30.5 near Snake Road — when its antenna was struck by lightning.
FHP spokesman Lt. Gregory S. Bueno told the Miami Herald in an email that the lightning strike damaged the roof antenna and electrical system of the Nissan, which was a Hertz rental from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Pictures taken by authorities showed the damage to the SUV as well as to the asphalt. The strike left a seven foot long, four inch wide gouge in the pavement, Bueno said.
“I saw a light and I don’t know what happened,” driver Ernesto Delhonte, 48, told WPLG Local 10 News. “Wow, what is this? But I survived. I’m alive. It’s a miracle.”
The Naples man’s car was towed and roadway repair was made aware of the road damage, the FHP said. No lanes are currently blocked.
“It was a really flukey thing,” Bueno said of the incident. “Happily, the man walked away without harm.”
Miami Herald writer Asta Hemenway contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 14, 2021 at 4:13 PM.
