'I'm safe, I think,' science teacher says in video — then lightning nearly strikes him

A Harnett County science teacher got more than he bargained for while taking video he planned to use as a lesson for his students.

Shawn Hicks was recording on Facebook Live as an ominous storm approached his Lillington home. Hicks was hoping to demonstrate what happens when a cold front overtakes a warm front.

Then something shocking happened, literally.

On the video, Hicks has just finished saying, “I’m safe, I think,” when a bolt of lightning rips through the sky right in front of him. He then sprints inside and says “never mind” while trying to catch his breath.

“I knew it was lightning out, but you never really expect to see a bolt come up that close,” Hicks said Saturday in an interview.

He said he wasn’t sure how close the strike really was but that he thought it was just down the road.

“It was close enough,” he said. “Once I saw that, I didn’t go back outside until the next day. I was good.”

The near-miss aside, Hicks was also lucky to catch the strike on video. He turned the camera frequently while showing the contrast of clear skies to one side and the dark clouds approaching on his other side.

He can be heard at one point saying, “Maybe I should go inside.”

It took little time for the video to go viral after it aired Monday. By Friday, the post had more than 335,000 views and 5,100 shares.

The video will serve as bonus material when Hicks teaches his weather unit at Harnett Central Middle School in the fall.

This story was originally published June 16, 2018 at 4:03 PM with the headline "'I'm safe, I think,' science teacher says in video — then lightning nearly strikes him."