Lightning hurls manhole cover into moving car

A 27-year-old driver escaped with minor injuries after lightning struck in front of his car in Mitterkirchen im Machland, in Perg district, ORF reported. The strike sent a manhole cover flying into the vehicle.

“The lightning struck in front of me,” the driver told Radio Upper Austria. The force of the impact lifted the car, he said.

According to the fire service, the manhole cover hit the left side of the vehicle, which continued on two wheels. The driver managed to steer it back onto the road, but it soon tipped onto its right side.

The accident happened on Wednesday evening during a storm. The driver, a butcher, suffered bruising. He was not trapped, but the vehicle’s position prevented him from opening the door himself.

Firefighters from Mitterkirchen, Langacker, Hütting and Baumgartenberg responded, along with other emergency crews. The Naarn im Machland fire service used a fire brigade crane to upright the car.

Storms led to almost 200 emergency callouts across Upper Austria, with crews responding to fallen trees, flooding and storm damage, according to the fire service.