A 24-year-old Staten Island man survived being struck by lightning after he walked out of his front door and was heading to a dentist appointment.
The moment was caught on a doorbell camera and the man, Thomas Fahmy, said it took place about 15 to 25 feet from his car on Aug. 27.
The surveillance video shows Fahmy, a staffer in Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ Staten Island office, walking with an umbrella when he was struck by lightning and knocked to the ground.
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Lightning hits Courtenay home
Fahmy remained conscious and got back up on his feet before walking to a nearby home to ask for help.
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He was taken to the Northwell Staten Island University Hospital after a woman heard him shouting for help and called 911.
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Fahmy told NBC 4 New York that he felt a “very intense burning sensation” followed by “tingling, numbness, pain, severe pain, in both my feet.”
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He said that he didn’t suffer any visible burns or major injuries but he was monitored overnight at the hospital before being released the following day.
Malliotakis released a statement following news of Fahmy’s lightning incident, saying, “We are grateful that Thomas, a member of my congressional staff is alive and well after being struck by lightning last week.”
“I thank the good samaritan [sic] who ran to his aid and the medical staff at Staten Island University Hospital who treated him,” she added in a post on X.
The odds of being struck by lightning in the U.S. are less than one in one million in a given year, according to the National Weather Service.

