Teenager comes home to lightning strike

 
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Apr 23, 2008 - 04:05:13 CDT
FARGO (AP) - A Fargo North High School student arrived home just as lightning struck his house.

"I had to pick up some homework and it happened right when I walked in the door," 17-year-old Brandon Hettwer said.

"Just big, the thud, and then like everything came crashing off the walls and everything out of the kitchen fell out of the cupboards," he said.

The lightning strike, about 11:30 a.m., Monday, tore a hole in the roof, blew out windows in the garage, damaged the garage door and cracked drywall in the house owned by David and Jolene Hettwer.

"It did blow a valve off a water pipe in the basement, so there's a little bit of water damage," Assistant Fire Chief Dean Meyer said.

A chunk of concrete popped out where the sidewalk meets the driveway, apparently from an underground current.

"I've never seen it come up through the sidewalk before," Meyer said.

A passer-by witnessed the lightning strike and phoned authorities, he said.

Brandon Hettwer said neither he nor his spooked black Lab, Lucky, were injured.

"I've never heard anything that loud," he said. "I didn't even know what was happening."
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Teenager comes home to lightning strike
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