MARCO ISLAND, Fla. (WFLA) – Four women on vacation on Marco Island were unconsciously knocked when lightning hit a Tiki hut, where lightning was evacuated during a storm last weekend.
Now, as they recover, they each leave an incredible story to tell four matching lightning bolt tattoos that mark unforgettable moments forever.
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Daniel Sturgill, Taylor Sturgill, Becky Johnson and Kelly Bryant are all from Kentucky and were on their first visit to Marco Island for girls’ trips.
They had a relaxing beach day on Saturday, June 21st, but it wasn’t like it for a long time.
“It started raining like it started to rain, there was no lightning,” the woman said in an interview with NBC affiliate WBBH. “And we got under the Tiki, when that happened.”
Within seconds, Lightning attacked Tiki’s shelter at JW Marriot Beach Resort.
“I fell completely behind,” Johnson said. “It completely knocked me out. I became unconscious. And when I woke up, the shock passed through my body, like the throbbing heart pounding through my head, I couldn’t hear. I barely could see.
Several people at the resort quickly ran to help them. The woman on the balcony also captured the moment when lightning hit the shed with cameras.
“It was a bit of a nerve wave,” said Ashley Fenoglio Ramos. “So I was a bit worried about their safety because there was someone under the hood, but it was so loud that it was like it was rocking me.”
Police on Marco Island said lightning bolts were not directly attacked by women, but they traveled to the ground after hitting the tiki.
The woman was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. A few days later, one of them still had a bruise in her arm, and the other had a bruise behind her ear.
The bruises eventually fade away, but the woman wanted to get a more permanent marker to remind her of the girl’s trip and how she survived the horrifying ordeal. Each of them tattooed lightning bolts on their ankles.
“I’m lucky to be here,” Taylor Sturgill said. “And we’re very grateful.”
