Twitch gamer struck by lightning through controller during livestream while indoors
Getting struck by lightning is an unlikely circumstance. But getting struck by lightning while you’re indoors playing a video game is bizarre to say the least.
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Jaime “Karma” Bickford, a professional gamer and caster, received a surprising shock as she was commentating a Rocket League match-up during a storm. While broadcasting on her Twitch, the sound of thunder crashing can be heard followed by Bickford’s scream.
This ominous happening surely was confusing to her viewers, but luckily Bickford later explained what went down.
“There are major thunderstorms going on right now in my area,” Bickford said. “And the house next door to me got struck by lightning, it’s not on fire, I don’t know what happened. But lightning must have hit there and gone through, there’s like a metal thing that goes down the house, it must have gone down the house and somehow hit me. Not hit me, but it went into my controller. And my controller went, like, spark, really big spark and just burned my hand.”
Bickford said on Twitter she saw a doctor about the burns on her hands, which were minor.
Unfortunately, her controller was broken during the freak incident, according to a photo she later posted on her Instagram feed.
According to another Twitter update, Bickford’s hands were “a little too sore” to compete in an upcoming tournament.
While feeling the effects of lightning indoors is uncommon, it does happen. It’s referred to as “conduction,” which is when lightning travels through wires or other metal surfaces, which is how indoor casualties can occur, according to the National Weather Service.
On average, lightning strikes kill 49 people each year in the United States, according to the National Weather Service. The U.S. saw 20 lightning-strike fatalities in 2019, all of which occurred outdoors the NWS reports.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Twitch gamer struck by lightning through controller during livestream while indoors."