DENVER (KDVR) – A Denver woman who was struck by lightning through a window during weekend storms feels lucky to be safe.
Sisters Cristina and Sarai Vasquez, who live in the Denver neighborhood of West Highlands, decided to stay in on Saturday night due to the storms. Cristina Vasquez opted to sit by an upstairs window.
Watching the storm gain strength outside, her sister, Sarai, warned her not to sit too close before the unthinkable happened.
“Since the window is right by the tree, it literally looked like the whole back of the window was lit up. I just saw fire, and then it sounded like an earthquake, and my ears were ringing, and that’s why I was staring at her like, ‘Did this just happen?'” Sarai Vasquez said.
Lightning did indeed strike a large tree in their front yard, and those electric currents traveled through the window and hit Cristina Vasquez, who said she was on her phone at the time.
“I heard a loud noise, and so I looked out of the window, and then as soon as I looked back at my phone, I see my arms light up, all my arm hairs stood up, and then I turned and looked at my sister and my phone flew out of my hands,” she said.
She said she felt some tingling and numbness right afterward, but felt otherwise OK, surprisingly. The sisters called 911 just to be safe, and responding paramedics say they were just as shocked to see Cristina Vasquez unharmed.
“I thought it was no big deal until the guys from the ambulance, one of them said, ‘Did you see the tree? You are one in a million; you need to go buy a lottery ticket.’ I’m still shocked about it. I told my parents I always knew I was electric,” she joked.
The National Weather Service is giving the following tips on lightning safety indoors:
- Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity.
- Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets.
- Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.
- Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.
