DUPLIN COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – A driver was seriously injured and a firefighter was shocked by a lightning strike this morning along an Eastern Carolina interstate.
The Highway Patrol says part of I-40 in Duplin County had to be shut down because of the weather-related crash.
I-40 westbound was closed down to all traffic just north of Wallace near mile marker 382.
Troopers say a pickup truck hydroplaned during a rainstorm around 7:30 a.m. The truck ran off the right side of the highway and struck a tree.
The driver, who was the only one in the pickup truck, was taken to ECU Health Duplin Hospital in very serious condition, according to the Highway Patrol.
Greg Murphy, a firefighter from Rose Hill, was leaning on the fence that runs along the highway when it was hit by lightning.
Trooper Jon Gurganus says the firefighter was a good distance away but still felt the shock. Fire Chief Gary Boney says Murphy still has numbness in his hand, but that he is doing really well.
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