Two Bay of Plenty teens are shaken, but grateful to be unharmed after they were struck by lightning while driving.
Numerous lightning strikes and torrential rain briefly plagued Te Puke this afternoon, but it did not stop 17-year-old friends Poppy Gibson of Pukehina and Samuel Tress of Lake Tarawera from heading to the gym around midday.
As they slowed near an intersection near Maketu and Paengaroa, alongside about five other cars, Gibson remembers "everything going white" and her car jolting "as though someone rear-ended me".
"I was like 'what the hell was that?' It was just a solid boom, like a massive explosion went off," she said.
"I wasn't sure what happened, but then I looked to my right and saw a [street light] with sparks coming off of it, it looked like a sparkler."
Powerco reported several outages in the area around midday, including one near where Gibson said she and Tress were hit.
Gibson called her mum right after the near-miss, uttering words she never imagined herself ever saying: "Mum, I think I've been struck by lightning."
"Mum was shocked and was like 'you gotta tell the media about this!'," she laughed.
She and Tress were unable to pull over until at the gym, where they checked on each other and discovered no damage to their cars.
Tress recalled having a similar experience to Gibson, telling her that he saw flames rise from the street light.
"We were laughing, but like, out of pure shock of what just happened, like we could have died," Gibson said.
"I know that if I hadn’t been in my car, things may have resulted in a different outcome, so I’m very grateful that my car saved my life."
It is unknown where exactly the bolt made contact, however simply being near a strike can be fatal due to ground currents.
Soon after the strike, Gibson noticed her phone - which was on a charging cable as she drove - had become significantly more damaged than she remembered.
"Before the lightning it had a small crack towards the bottom, but afterwards the crack grew, reaching the camera at the top and the screen was discoloured," she said, "now I'm in need of a new phone."
Once back home, Gibson got a hug and a kiss from her mum and was able to relax and process what had unfolded.
"Overall [I'm] still feeling very on edge and quite traumatised from this experience," she said.
"Might go and buy a Lotto ticket now, as I feel very lucky to have survived a lightning strike."
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