According to research experts, the probability of a person being struck by lightning is about 1/280,000,000. However, the world has recorded the case of a man who was "thundered" 7 times but still survived.

This man's name is Roy Cleveland Sullivan, born in 1912 in Greene County Virginia (USA). He worked as a ranger specializing in fire patrol at Shenandoah National Park.

The story of him being struck by lightning 7 times is so special that it was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. But more important than the number 7 is the fact that he still survived those "thunder strikes".

The first time was in April 1942, Sullivan was inside the fire alarm tower when a storm hit while the tower did not have a lightning rod. Sullivan saw lightning strike about 7-8 times and the valley was engulfed in flames. He tried to run away from the tower but was struck by lightning before he got very far.

"The lightning struck me, leaving a burn mark about an inch long and destroying my big toe. My boots were covered in blood," Roy said.

The odds of being struck by lightning twice are 1 in 9,000,000. Yet Sullivan had a second, in July 1969, 27 years later.

A summer storm hit while he was driving his truck on Skyline Drive. After several flashes of lightning around the truck, a bolt of lightning came through the open window and struck Sullivan, burning his wristwatch and eyebrows. Sullivan lost consciousness and the truck was swept into a ditch.

A year later, while Roy was gardening, lightning struck a nearby transformer and hit his left shoulder. The lightning struck him, causing him to fall over and burn himself badly, leaving a huge scar on his back. Anyone who saw the scar would be amazed because it looked exactly like a "lightning flower".

Sullivan was struck by lightning for the fourth time at the Loft Mountain lookout point in 1972. Sullivan said it was raining lightly, with no thunder until he heard a loud bang. The lightning destroyed the fuse box. A fire broke out inside the lookout point, and when Sullivan’s tinnitus cleared, he felt a burning sensation. Sullivan’s hair was on fire. He used a wet towel to put out the flames and then drove himself to the hospital.

At that time, Sullivan attracted national attention. He was interviewed, appeared on television, and entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the “Only Man to Survive Four Lightning Strikes.”

 

Sullivan's fifth, sixth, and seventh lightning strikes were not included in the Guinness Book of Records because they were not officially verified like the previous ones. There is little evidence of the three later lightning strikes.

While trying to ride out a storm, Sullivan thought the cloud seemed to be following him. He finally escaped it by getting into his car. But he got out again and was struck a fifth time. Roy Sullivan said he actually saw the lightning bolt shoot out of the cloud and hit him directly, traveling down the left side of his body.

The sixth time, Sullivan said the storm was "sucked" into him and the lightning struck him while he was walking in the park. The result was severe injuries to his chest and abdomen.

Sullivan retired in 1976 and moved to the town of Dooms with his fourth wife. For safety, he installed several lightning rods at his home, burying copper wire seven feet underground. But unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes, he was struck by lightning for the 7th time while he was out fishing. The lightning burned Roy Sullivan's hair before traveling down his body, burning his chest and abdomen. Sullivan almost lost consciousness before pulling himself up and driving to seek medical treatment.

The legend of Sullivan has been told over and over again, and people also admired his luck. However, this man who was struck by lightning 7 times and survived ended up losing his life for an unexpected reason.

At the age of 71, Mr. Sullivan ended his life by shooting himself through the head. The reason was because when he confessed his love to the woman he had secretly admired for a long time but was rejected, Sullivan was extremely desperate. In a fit of depression, he committed suicide to prove his love.