Lightning strike zaps Springfield couple’s car

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By Andrew McGinn, Staff Writer Updated 11:23 AM Tuesday, July 6, 2010

SPRINGFIELD — By his own admission, Greg Adams had just popped two Percocets when it happened.

So in this oxycodone haze, the blinding white light that engulfed his Ford Edge, zapping the radio antenna clean off and rendering the whole car inoperable, might very well have been blamed on a passing UFO or on the effects of time travel.

But it wasn’t exactly the 100 million volts of electricity that snapped Adams, herniated disc and all, back to reality.

It was his wife’s driving.

“My wife screams and lets go of the steering wheel to cover her eyes,” he said. “I am instantly sober.”

The Clark County couple had just been struck by lightning. Or, rather, their car was struck by lightning. Or lightning struck close by.

Or they were probed by aliens.

Whatever happened the night of Sunday, June 27, as they made their way home on Ohio 4 from Grandview Medical Center in Dayton, one thing is for sure — the Edge is fried.

“You just can’t imagine how bright that was,” Adams, 51, said. “By the time we could react, it was over and done with. You can’t blink that quick.”

It was a definite first for Adams and his wife of 28 years, Virginia, who together own a Springfield carpet-cleaning business.

“My wife’s yelling, ‘Are we on fire? Are we on fire?’ ” he recalled.

The car instantly died, Adams said, and had two flat tires.

According to the National Weather Service, a vehicle is indeed one of the safest places to be when lightning strikes — and Adams is thankful he was inside a car and not outside.

“If it would’ve hit us,” he said, “I’m sure we would’ve been toast.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0352 or amcginn@coxohio.com.

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