Lightning strikes man's SUV

CARROLLWOOD (FOX 13) - Barry Shapiro is left with a fried SUV.  "You can turn the key, nothing is happening, no lights," he said.

The doctor from Carrollwood, has a story to tell.  "We thought a bomb went off, it was a really loud bang and a big white light," he recalled of his drive home on Saturday night from Orlando. "It blinded me for a second."

He and his girlfriend, Gwen, pulled over in the Eastbound lanes of I-4, four miles from the Davenport exit Saturday night.

"We smelled something burning," he said. "I was afraid at first the car was going to catch on fire."

He believes his Tahoe conducted the electricity because of the wet road,

Witnesses were so stunned, they pulled over too. "She says 'are you guys OK?' I said 'yeah, but I think we got hit by lightning,' and she says 'you did get hit by lightning, we saw the strike.'"

A doctor by trade, Shapiro knows the power of science, and says he can't believe it, especially because it seems the only damage is electrical.

"Gwen and I feel lucky in one respect," he said. "Of all the cars on the road, I got nailed. We feel very lucky we didn't get hurt or killed."

And he still may have some luck left over from Saturday night.

"My kids told me I was so lucky I should get a lottery ticket. I already had a lottery ticket but I haven't even checked the numbers yet."