Man's Close Call With Lightning Caught on Video

Colorado man went out to film lightning, knocked out by strike himself.

ByABC News
July 9, 2014, 12:29 PM

— -- A Colorado man using his phone to capture a video of hail and lightning outside his house got a little too close to the action when he was suddenly thrown to the floor by a bolt of lightning, catching the whole thing on camera.

Chad Greenlees, of Arvada, had thought he was safe from a strike when standing underneath the protection of his garage. Taking out his phone, he panned across the dark and cloudy sky before a lightning strike knocked him down.

“I kind of stumbled back and fell through the door,” Greenlees told ABC News affiliate 7NEWS.

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Greenlees daughter, Ileah, heard the crash and ran over to find her father convulsing on the floor.

Greenlees wife, Emmy, immediately called 911.

“I thought I was going to lose him,” she said. “It was scary.”

At the hospital, doctors checked Greenlees for entrance and exit wounds, but none could be found.

While doctors have told Greenlees he’s going to be okay, he still reports hearing ringing in his ears and being generally achy.

“I was scared to death,” said Greenlees, “I’m grateful that I survived.