Boy nearly crushed by tree downed by lightning

13 hours ago

Isabella BonehamWest Midlands

News image — Katelyn Moore said she never appreciated how powerful and unpredictable lightning could be

Katelyn Moore A photo showing the bottom of the broken tree with a house in the background. — Katelyn Moore said she never appreciated how powerful and unpredictable lightning could be

A woman has described the terrifying moment when lightning struck a huge tree next to her home and nearly crushed her five-year-old son.

Katelyn Moore, from Rugby, said she had pulled up after a shopping trip last week and her son ran towards their home just as lightning hit the tree making an "enormous bang", sounding "like a gunshot".

She said the tree suddenly came crashing down, with the leaves covering her son, before he emerged unscathed from beneath some branches.

"Time just stood still and I genuinely thought the worst had happened - I remember screaming his name, because I had no idea whether he had been caught underneath," Moore added.

She told the BBC that when she saw her son reappear she felt "incredibly lucky".

"If he had carried on through the gate, he would have been directly in the path of where the tree came down - I don't even like thinking about what could have happened," she said.

Katelyn Moore A picture of a huge tree that has been downed by lightning, it is dark outside. — The lightning struck last Thursday

Moore added her son stopped and ducked down, and remained terrified of the incident, which happened on 27 August.

She said she did not see the lightning hit the tree, but she "jumped at the sound" and felt the ground shake beneath her.

Before the incident, Moore said lightning had never really scared her but "this experience has completely changed the way I look at it".

"I don't think I ever appreciated just how powerful and unpredictable it can be or how quickly everything can change."

Katelyn Moore The picture shows Katelyn Moore's back garden with a blue fence at the back with a hole in where the tree has caused damage. The tree can be seen behind that has been cut in half with the stump still standing. There are leaves scattered across the garden. — The damage caused to Katelyn Moore's back garden and fencing

Moore hopes sharing her story will raise awareness of how dangerous tall trees can be near properties. She said it was important that they were "appropriately inspected, maintained, and concerns about their condition are taken seriously".

The tree destroyed Moore's fencing and landed in her neighbour's garden, crushing their outdoor sofa.

Moore said she believed the fencing saved her son's life as it "took the force of the tree as it came down".

"Looking at the broken fences afterwards was incredibly emotional because they are replaceable, but my little boy isn't - we were unbelievably lucky," she added.

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