Posted on 06/22/2006 4:28:40 PM PDT by RDTF
WESTMINSTER, Colo. -- A 46-year-old man on a motorcycle was struck by lightning and killed Wednesday evening while riding in rush hour traffic on the Boulder Turnpike.
Witnesses said they saw a flash of light just before the yellow motorcycle crashed into the center concrete divider.
Gary Missi, of Longmont, was pronounced dead at the scene. It is unknown if Missi was killed by the lightning strike or by the crash that followed, authorities said. An autopsy is pending.
However, Missi's bike was not badly damaged and he had injuries consistent with a lightning strike, Westminster police said. Missi was wearing a helmet.
"We get some crazy things, but 'Wow,'" said Westminster police spokesman Tim Read.
Missi's motorcycle came to rest about 150 yards from where lightning blasted an 18-by-8-inch crater, 4-inches deep that blew chunks of asphalt across the highway and slightly damaged other vehicles.
Authorities say it's incredible that no one else was hurt.
"Five o'clock, rush hour traffic on Highway 36 westbound -- that no one else was struck, hurt or anything is just amazing," Read said.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedenverchannel.com ...
Here is another one:
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=3387272&nav=23iiaFOV
Motorcyclist Struck and Killed by Lightning
State Police say a 43-year old motorcyclist from Virginia Beach was struck and killed by lightning Tuesday afternoon in Southampton County.
Officials say Richard Moran Jr.was stuck around 4:10pm while traveling westbound on Route 58 near Courtland.
After the strike, the bike ran off the roadway into the eastbound lane and eventually caught fire.
The motorcyclist was not struck by another vehicle. Officials say Moran, of the 1400 block of Eddystone Drive, died at the scene from the lightning strike, not the subsequent crash
we must demand all Motorcyclists to install proper grounding so this never happens again! If it saves ONE life then it is what we must do!
They should start wearing chain-mail suits, maybe the faraday effect will protect them.
Darn good shot.
out the window goes the old tale of being on rubber tires makes you safe!
I remember growing up my mom would make us put on our sneakers in the house during a bad thunderstorm.
Damn!
Shocking!
Semper Fi
you're bad :)
Motorcyclist Dies After Lightning Strike?
Nope. The magnetic field of lightning passing through copper tubing frequently compresses the tubes into solid rods [like they did it with a wire cage at Livermore labs]. Chain mail is no different, and even worse since flexible. Really rigid plate armor could do it.
I guess it's an old wives tale?
I was riding a 75 Honda CB400F from Lake City to St. Augustine, Florida, when lightning hit a pine tree next to the road. I didn't feel a shock, but had bruises from flying chunks of wood. I was so startled that I almost lost control. It was the loudest sound I've ever heard.
There are many things that could be wrapped into this event and posted.
One, the tires? I guess that "is out the window."
The other is "When it's your time..."
Some days the elevator and some days the shaft.
Before she came, he had no pulse. They were going to give up on him. Some of the paramedics saw her and some didn't.
It sounded pretty odd. The guy recovered, but he spent about 2 months in the hospital.
hey I'm with ya. I saw this report on tv and wanted to post it because it seemed so bizarre. I did a google search for a link and found it plus a few others. Who knew?
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