Man Survives Two Lightning Strikes

North Texas rodeo clown says he feels closer to God

A North Texas man who survived two lightning strikes Saturday night is still shaking and says he is lucky to have survived.

"I was sitting there thinking to myself, this is it, I'm dying," Casey Wagner said.

As a rodeo clown, the Weatherford man risks his life all the time. But he thought he would be safe at an off-road big-truck adventure west of Gainesville known as Rednecks With Paychecks.

"We had a blast Friday night. And then Saturday, when the rain came, is when everything broke lose," he said.

A lightning storm moved in, and Wagner learned suddenly it was too late for him to find shelter.

"The sparks came off the tree and then there was a flash by my foot," he said.

"I heard the bang and I clinched up and the flash was right there and it hit me in the leg," he said.

As Wagner fell to the ground, he felt another jolt.

"It was like, 'Bam, bam.' And when I was going down, another one came up in front of my face and flash bang, And that's when it just took me down."

He laid there, unable to move.

A nurse who happened to be there took care of him until an ambulance arrived and took him to a hospital in nearby Nocona.

Wagner said his muscles are still sore and his hands can't stop trembling.

"It's just shaking and numb feeling, like tingly," he said. "That's what the whole body feels like."

Now, he feels closer to God, he said.

"I'm going to start going to church more," he said. "I owe everything to him."

Wagner said it's also changed his life in another way.

"I'll make sure it's not raining out anytime I go outside now," he said.

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