Cave City woman, granddaughter struck by lightning while heading to school

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – It was a regular Monday morning for Addie and Michelle Meredith, until it wasn’t.

Addie is a third grade student at Foundation Christian Academy in Bowling Green where her grandmother is a teacher, and they ran into something awe-striking when headed to school on May 8. Less than what Michelle estimates to be a half mile away from exit 8 going southbound on I-65, the Meredith women were struck by lightning while driving down the highway.

News 40 spoke to Shane Holinde, a meteorologist who works with the Kentucky Mesonet about the event. He said it’s extremely rare and while the damage to the car is terrible, it was to be expected. According to Holinde, any systems in the car will be a goner after being struck. The forecaster said the odds are astronomical, but the best place to be is actually in the vehicle due to the “skin” or “Faraday effect”.

As for the Merediths, they were pretty shook up, Addie especially.

Michelle said she saw a flash in the passenger side mirror, followed by a loud yet muffled sound and that’s when the car stopped working. Michelle said she was able to pull into the emergency lane and while she and her granddaughter waited, a man stopped by and called 911 for them.

A police officer responded and allowed the Merediths to wait in his car while the storm continued. Michelle told News 40 the Cave City Fire Department came relatively fast, but by the time they got there, flames were already engulfing the hood.

The car was a complete loss but thankfully the pair was able to walk away unscathed, and that’s what they’re most grateful for