Sergeant Mark Rodriguez from the Gautier Police Department in Mississippi considers himself lucky to be alive.
Rodriguez was driving his police cruiser through a storm last year when a bolt of lightning came down right in front of his car.
"The lightning struck approximately 30 feet from me, striking the bridge and actually causing damage to the bridge. I saw the concrete pieces flying," Rodriguez told NBC News. "The flash was very bright. It didn't blind me, it just kind of made my eyes blurry for a moment."
The dash cam inside his cruiser caught the terrifying moment on video:
Lightning is most likely to happen during thunderstorms, when warm air rises and mixes with cold air above it, according to NASA. But there can also be what's called "dry lightning," where no rain is involved. The powerful discharges of electricity can kill people and animals, and can damage buildings and fry power grids.
NASA recommends that people stay indoors during thunderstorms, and away from bodies of water or swimming pools. It's also a good idea to unplug or switch off electronics.
Some areas on Earth experience lightning-brewing weather much more often than others, so lightning strikes aren't distributed evenly across the globe.
NASA created this lightning frequency map based on data from 2015. The areas colored bright pink — which seem to include parts of the southeastern US, where Gautier is located — had the most flashes of lightning:
You can watch the full dash cam video of the lightning strike below.
