Shanksville teen hit by lightning in his kitchen

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — An 18-year-old western Pennsylvania man says he's lucky to be alive after he was struck by lightning -- while standing next to his kitchen stove.

Cody Sines, of Shanksville, said he was grabbing dinner after work on Tuesday when a "big blue ball of flame" came at him as he grabbed the handle of his electric stove on Tuesday afternoon.

Sines later learns that lightning hit a tree his back yard before traveling through the ground and into his house.

His mother, Michele Bittner, says she was looking into the kitchen when her son was knocked unconscious.

She tells the station, "I just saw him flow, just `boom,' across the room and hit the back of the sink. He just slid down and started twitching."

Sines has since recovered.

WPXI