ARtraveler
08-17-2015, 09:36 PM
A man in Colorado said he feels "pretty good" after he miraculously survived a lightning strike while riding his motorcycle.
Eugene Villines of Greeley, Colorado, was on his usual commute from work as a Colorado Army National Guard member on Friday around 6 p.m., he told ABC News. He said he wasn't driving in a storm and only saw a dark cloud.
He doesn't remember being struck by lightning while he was in the fast lane. Witnesses say he went limp, then somehow crossed two lanes before he crashed his bike, he said.
"I feel pretty good," Villines told ABC News today, speaking from the hospital where he is being treated. "Partially punctured lungs and bruised ribs make everything more difficult but I'm doing pretty well."
Photos show his badly damaged motorcycle helmet. His wife, Katie, said it's a wonder that he wasn't hit by another car when he was unconscious.
"I feel just like it’s a miracle," Katie Villines told ABC News. "He’s just so lucky to have survived this, because not many people survive getting struck by lightning and a motorcycle accident at the same time."
Katie, who will celebrate the couple's 10th wedding anniversary this November, said she was "beside myself" when a man called to tell her only that her husband was in a motorcycle accident and he was "still breathing."
The Villines family, including their 9-year-old son, want to gather the strangers who helped on the road, including a nurse named Margaret who they haven't been able to contact.
"The witnesses said it was rush hour and all of a sudden there was a clearing," Katie Villines said. "He was able to go right off of the road and crash," she said.
While it was initially reported that Villines was struck by lightning in the back, according to ABC affiliate KMGH (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/greeley-man-blown-off-sport-bike-by-lightning-strike) in Denver, he and his wife now believe he may have been struck in the shoulder or left hand.
Katie Villines said it's to be determined whether her husband will be riding his motorcycle again. The family hopes he can be discharged today from University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora.
"One step at a time," Eugene Villines said. "We’ll clear the hospital first."
Eugene Villines of Greeley, Colorado, was on his usual commute from work as a Colorado Army National Guard member on Friday around 6 p.m., he told ABC News. He said he wasn't driving in a storm and only saw a dark cloud.
He doesn't remember being struck by lightning while he was in the fast lane. Witnesses say he went limp, then somehow crossed two lanes before he crashed his bike, he said.
"I feel pretty good," Villines told ABC News today, speaking from the hospital where he is being treated. "Partially punctured lungs and bruised ribs make everything more difficult but I'm doing pretty well."
Photos show his badly damaged motorcycle helmet. His wife, Katie, said it's a wonder that he wasn't hit by another car when he was unconscious.
"I feel just like it’s a miracle," Katie Villines told ABC News. "He’s just so lucky to have survived this, because not many people survive getting struck by lightning and a motorcycle accident at the same time."
Katie, who will celebrate the couple's 10th wedding anniversary this November, said she was "beside myself" when a man called to tell her only that her husband was in a motorcycle accident and he was "still breathing."
The Villines family, including their 9-year-old son, want to gather the strangers who helped on the road, including a nurse named Margaret who they haven't been able to contact.
"The witnesses said it was rush hour and all of a sudden there was a clearing," Katie Villines said. "He was able to go right off of the road and crash," she said.
While it was initially reported that Villines was struck by lightning in the back, according to ABC affiliate KMGH (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/greeley-man-blown-off-sport-bike-by-lightning-strike) in Denver, he and his wife now believe he may have been struck in the shoulder or left hand.
Katie Villines said it's to be determined whether her husband will be riding his motorcycle again. The family hopes he can be discharged today from University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora.
"One step at a time," Eugene Villines said. "We’ll clear the hospital first."