The striking story of world record holder ‘Spark Ranger’ who was hit by lightning 7 times

Former park ranger Roy C. Sullivan is a proud holder of a record that not many would like to hold. Sullivan, who was based in the United States’ Virginia, was lovingly known as ‘Spark Ranger’ by his close ones due to his long history with lightning. The ex-ranger was struck by lightning seven times throughout the course of his life, surviving each of which possessed several million volts of electricity, according to Guinness World Records.

The first of the many strikes occurred in April of 1942, when he was directly struck in the right leg while being on duty at Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The incident left him with a broken nail and marks on his leg. His second time was in July of 1969, when he was struck while driving a truck.

The incident left him unconscious with scorched eyebrows. A year later, another bolt of lightning hit him, injuring his left shoulder while he was in his garden. Another strike in April 1972 burned his hair while he was at work. Sullivan’s wife was also unable to escape her husband’s lightning spree, and got struck once while hanging laundry in the backyard when he gave her his hand.

Sullivan shatters odds with bizarre lightning score 

With the seven incidents, the ranger transcended the odds of getting hit by lightning, which are usually around 1 in 10,000 in a lifespan of 80 years. Lightning also inclines a little towards men than women, with the former being four times more likely to face its wrath.

The lightning strikes did not kill Sullivan, but they did leave him with social challenges. Many people didn’t want to be around him for fear of getting struck themselves. On September 28, 1983, Sullivan breathed his last, and passed away in tragic circumstances.