‘Wow’: See the damage caused after lightning struck this SUV during storm in Broward

A driver had a scary experience traveling on Alligator Alley during a heavy rainstorm in Broward County late Monday morning.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a blue 2018 Nissan Rogue was going west around 11:30 a.m. on Interstate 75 around mile marker 30.5 near Snake Road — when its antenna was struck by lightning.

Lightning hits Florida highway and sends a chunk of asphalt through a truck’s windshield

FHP spokesman Lt. Gregory S. Bueno told the Miami Herald in an email that the lightning strike damaged the roof antenna and electrical system of the Nissan, which was a Hertz rental from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Pictures taken by authorities showed the damage to the SUV as well as to the asphalt. The strike left a seven foot long, four inch wide gouge in the pavement, Bueno said.

“I saw a light and I don’t know what happened,” driver Ernesto Delhonte, 48, told WPLG Local 10 News. “Wow, what is this? But I survived. I’m alive. It’s a miracle.”

The Naples man’s car was towed and roadway repair was made aware of the road damage, the FHP said. No lanes are currently blocked.

“It was a really flukey thing,” Bueno said of the incident. “Happily, the man walked away without harm.”

Miami Herald writer Asta Hemenway contributed to this report.