JUPITER, FL--Gerald Geissler sits in his bed at Jupiter Medical Center in disbelief after getting struck by lightning Wednesday morning.
Gerald was cleaning out his garage to get ready for his morning route cleaning pools. He was actually rolling out a truck tire when he was struck.
"Heard the thunder then the lightning hit, and the rest is history, just kinda blacked out and woke up about 20, 30 minutes later to the rain raining on me and my hat was on fire," he said. "I guess I was one of the lucky ones."
His wife Tami said, "He comes in and he throws this hat to me like a Frisbee, his lucky hat and there was this burst of flames that kinda shot out of it as it came into the bedroom and he goes I was struck by lightning."
The pool cleaning business owner's hat now has a big hole. It's an eerie souvenir of his close call.
"It's just hard to fathom right now,” he said. “You never think your going to get struck or anything catastrophic is gonna happen."
Gerald says the tire he was rolling out of his garage actually saved his life because he was grounded by the rubber.
Gerald will remain at Jupiter Medical Center for at least a couple more days for observation.
Then he says he will get right back to work.
