This Is Florida: North Carolina Motorcyclist Struck By Lightning While Riding, Killed In Crash

Motorcycles come with plenty of danger on its own. They take balance to control, have a higher risk of being in fatal accidents, and don’t lend themselves to bad weather.

And a rider in Florida, unfortunately, learned that lesson the hard way.

The accident occurred on Florida’s Interstate 95 in Volusia County on Sunday when a 45-year-old man from North Carolina was out for an afternoon ride. While out, the man got caught in a thunderstorm that rolled through the area and tried to ride through it. He ended up getting struck by lightning on his helmet, forcing him to swerve off the road and crash.

According to ABC affiliate WFTV, an off-duty Virginia State Police officer reportedly witnessed the accident. And while local police and emergency personnel tried to respond quickly, the man did not survive the crash.

John Jensenius, of the National Lightning Safety Council, also told WFTV that there had only been 10 deaths related to lightning striking a motorcyclist since 2006. However, he revealed that several of those riders were not on their bikes when they were struck.

The Orlando attachment of the Florida Highway Patrol also posted a picture of the man’s helmet to twitter, reporting on the accident to commuters.