A neighbour’s doorbell camera captured a terrifying moment on Staten Island last Thursday, when 24-year-old Thomas Fahmy was struck directly by lightning while walking along Todt Hill Road near Windsor Road. The footage shows Fahmy walking under an umbrella through heavy rain, just 15 to 25 feet from his parked car, when a bright flash sends him crumpling instantly to the sidewalk.
Fahmy, a staffer in US Representative Nicole Malliotakis’s Staten Island district office, had left home for a dentist appointment when the strike hit. He said he never had time to react. He recalled falling to the ground almost the instant the bolt made contact.
Conscious the Entire Time
Despite the force of the strike, Fahmy remained conscious throughout the ordeal. He described intense burning, tingling, numbness, and severe pain throughout his body, concentrated mostly in both feet. After a few seconds lying on the pavement, he managed to get back up and stagger toward a nearby house, calling out for help, partly out of concern that a second strike could follow.
Neighbour Stephanie Homan heard his cries and rushed outside, later helping call for emergency assistance. Fahmy was taken to Northwell Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze, where he was monitored overnight. Doctors examining him found no burns and no other significant injuries, a result his care team described as remarkable given the nature of the strike.
A Rare Survival
Direct lightning strikes are considered less common than other forms of lightning injury, but they are also the most dangerous. According to the National Weather Service, when lightning strikes a person directly, current typically travels partly along the skin’s surface and partly through the body’s cardiovascular and nervous systems, which is why survivors often report the kind of full-body burning and tingling sensations Fahmy described. That he escaped without visible burns places his case among the more fortunate outcomes recorded for direct strikes.
Representative Malliotakis addressed the incident publicly, saying she felt grateful and relieved that Fahmy was alive and well, and thanking both the neighbor who came to his aid and the medical staff who treated him.
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A New Outlook on Life
Fahmy, who describes himself as a man of faith, said the experience has reshaped how he sees everything since. He said the ordeal taught him to appreciate life more fully, to slow down and breathe, and not let daily pressures become overwhelming. After his discharge from the hospital, he bought a Mega Millions lottery ticket, reasoning that surviving something with odds this slim might count for something, before attending church the following Sunday, where he said the day’s scripture reading felt strikingly relevant to what he had just been through.
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Part of a Dangerous Storm Pattern
Fahmy’s survival stands out against a grimmer backdrop of recent lightning strikes across the country. Around the same time, a father in Florida was killed by lightning while jet skiing off St. Petersburg, and reports emerged of a mother and toddler struck elsewhere in the state, underscoring how quickly a storm can turn deadly. Fahmy’s video, now circulating widely online, has become a striking reminder of both the danger lightning poses and the rare margin by which some survive it.
FAQ
Who was struck by lightning on Staten Island?
Thomas Fahmy, a 24-year-old staffer for US Representative Nicole Malliotakis, was struck while walking to his car on Todt Hill Road during a storm.
Did he suffer any injuries?
Doctors found no burns and no major injuries. He was monitored overnight at Staten Island University Hospital and released the next day.
Why do direct lightning strikes cause burning and tingling sensations?
According to the National Weather Service, current from a direct strike travels partly along the skin and partly through the body’s cardiovascular and nervous systems, producing the burning and numbness many survivors report.
Summary: A Staten Island man was caught on doorbell camera being struck by lightning while walking to his car, and remarkably survived with no burns, a moment now going viral online.
