When Ford named the first electric F-150 truck the Lightning, we’re 100 percent sure that it wasn’t a reference to actual lightning strikes and the destruction they bring. But here it is: a Super Duty Ford truck that was struck by lightning and completely consumed.
Kristi Hughes Groover, the original uploader of the pictures, claimed that the unidentified driver of the Ford Super Duty truck was a cabinet installation who was presumably on the way to or from a job site nearby. The front fascia of the vehicle appeared unscathed, but the entire central part, or the cab area, was entirely destroyed and beyond recognition.
The harrowing incident happened on Dataw Island in South Carolina during intense storms on one Tuesday afternoon. The truck was parked near a tree and according to eyewitnesses, as shared by the Explore Beaufort, SC Facebook page, the lightning bolt hit a tree, traveled down, and jumped to the truck. That strike started a fire, which caused the damages seen in the photos until it was put out. Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the incident.Â
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), you are typically safe inside a vehicle during a cloud-to-vehicle lightning strike as “the outer metal shell of hard-topped metal vehicles does provide protection to those inside a vehicle with the windows closed.” As seen in this incident, there’s a bit of a wiggle room with that statement.
Fair enough, we’re not certain if the truck’s windows were shut when the lightning struck. Additionally, the one that struck the car was a second-hand impact from a tree, and it set a certain area of it on fire, resulting in significant damage.
As a general rule, anyone outside a shelter is vulnerable during a lightning storm, therefore if your circumstances allow, seek refuge indoors, ideally inside your home rather than your car.
Source: Kristi Hughes Groover via Pickup Truck +SUV Talk