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American Morning

Lightning Strikes at Funeral

Aired August 13, 2001 - 09:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We take you this morning to Tennessee, where several people were hospitalized after being struck by lightning. And this was no ordinary lightning strike -- well, if is their is such a thing as an ordinary one.

Jay Korff from our affiliate WKRN has the rather unusual circumstances in this "Look Across America."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DICKIE YOUNG, WITNESS: It's been very hard.

JAY KORFF, WKRN REPORTER: Dickie Young would rather forget this weekend. Saturday he buried his 40-year-old brother Larry beside their mother and their father. Larry died unexpectedly from complications following surgery.

YOUNG: He loved everybody. He didn't have a bad word for nobody.

KORFF: In contrast to this day, it rained hard during Larry's funeral, at Sunset Cemetery in Dresden. In fact, it was coming double so hard, the service was shortened. But moments after it ended...

YOUNG: I seen lightning coming from the sky.

KORFF: ... a powerful bolt of lightning slammed into this van.

YOUNG: To me if felt like the earth was just going to blow up.

KORFF: Young says the lightning strike blew two tires off the vehicle, then traveled through the ground.

YOUNG: It looked like the lightning come down, and it just spread out.

KORFF: ... shocking close to a dozen people.

YOUNG: And then it knocked us backwards, and I mean, people falling down and -- it was terrible. I thought it was over for all of us.

KORFF: Six people were rushed to Methodist Volunteer Hospital in nearby Martin, yet no one was seriously injured, which serves as a relief to Dickie Young. He's already experienced enough heartache for one weekend.

YOUNG: Well, everybody's thankful they're living.

KORFF: Jay Korff, News 2 at 10:00.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: That is our "Look Across America" this morning. If you have a story from your hometown that you'd like to see in this segment, just e-mail us at morning@cnn.com.

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