WARNING: This post contains a graphic image.
A North Carolina man is dead after his helmet was struck by lightning in Florida while he was riding down the interstate, according to authorities.
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The 45-year-old unidentified man was struck on Sunday on a highway in Volusia County, ABC affiliate WFTV9 reported.
Following the crash, the Florida Highway Patrol posted a photo of the man’s helmet on social media, saying that the lightning had shattered it.
Police added the strike happened just before 3 p.m. local time.
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According to Florida State University, Florida is known as the “lightning capital” of the U.S. Tampa Bay gets the highest number of lightning strikes, while experts suggest the chance of being struck by lightning in the state is one in 3,000 over a lifetime.
In addition, 16 per cent of the average lightning fatalities in the U.S. happen in Florida.
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In 2018, the state reported the highest density of lightning strikes, WCTV TV reported.
The Vaisala and the National Lightning Detection Network recorded a total of 1,385,710 strikes last year, including seven lightning fatalities.
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