'Scary:' Chatham Teen Was Victim Of Lightning Strike

CHATHAM, NJ - A 19-year-old Chatham Township teenager reportedly woke up wet and confused on Thursday night. He was on the ground, still not comprehending what happened to him. He had been running sprints behind a school.

“He woke up. He was on the ground. He had been unconscious, maybe, not that long, probably less than a minute or so, and just numbness generally across his body,” Brendan Darby's father, Jack, told 1010 WINS.

Since then, Darby has been recovering from what officials are calling a suspected lightning strike. The incident happened as storms passed through the area.

Brendan, who woke up with a headache on Friday, told CBS2 that he thought soon after regaining consciousness after the strike that "I should be dead right now."

He also said he will be more careful in the future.

"You don't think it will ever happen to you. But it can," he told CBS2.

The incident happened around 9 p.m. when Chatham Borough Police received a call about a suspected lightning strike in Haas Field behind Chatham Middle School on Main Street, according to Police Chief Brian Gibbons.

“The last thing he remembered was that he needed to get off the field as the storm was approaching," Jack Darby said to NJ.com.

A juvenile witness running on the rubberized turf field noticed a lightning strike close by and turned to see the victim, Brendan, lying unconscious approximately 10 feet from the soccer goal post, police said.

"My wife actually said, 'Hey we need to get a hold of him there's this thunderstorm coming through, don't want him to get hit by lightning,'" Jack Darby told ABC7.

The witness did not actually see the suspected strike, but reported that Darby was unconscious for approximately two minutes and woke with a tingling sensation over his body, according to Gibbons.

The witness ran to get two neighbors, John and Ellen Tunny of Ellers Drive, for help. Tunny went over to Haas Field and found Darby wandering around unsteady before escorting him to his home to summon medical assistance, Gibbons said.

"He was just coming down the street saying, 'Oh I was struck, I was like oh my God, let's get him in the house!' " Beth Tunney told ABC7.

When police arrived, Darby was alert and conscious. He did not recall seeing a lightning strike nor did he recall falling unconscious. He appeared shaken but stable, Gibbons said.

According to Gibbons, the Chatham Emergency Squad and Paramedics responded, treating and transporting Darby to Morristown Medical Center for additional evaluation/treatment.

John Tunny told ABC7 the police officer said the area is kind of a magnet for lightning.

"Thank God he's okay. Scary. We felt so bad for him," he said.