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Florida teenager 'lucky to be alive' after being struck by lightning while doing yard work

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Florida teenager 'lucky to be alive' after being struck by lightning while doing yard work

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A Florida teenager is recovering after surviving a lightning strike while he was doing yard work during a storm.

Daniel Sharkey, 17, was taken to the Orlando Regional Medical Center after the incident that happened on Monday around 5 p.m. in Altamonte Springs.

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“It came straight through the tree,” he told Fox 35.

Sharkey, who runs a lawn care company, was weed-whacking a neighbor’s yard amid the storm when he was struck, the outlet reported, noting that lightning can strike miles from a storm. He was then seen lying on the ground as neighbors rushed to help him.

UTAH TEEN SPEAKS OUT AFTER SHE AND CHURCH YOUTH GROUP SURVIVE LIGHTNING STRIKE: ‘A MIRACLE’

Thunder, lightning strikes and rain during summer storms. (iStock)

The teenager is thankful to have survived the strike, but he remains in pain.

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“My chest hurts, and everything is sore,” Sharkey said, adding that he feels “lucky to be alive.”

“I couldn’t scream – at least, I don’t think I was making any noises,” he said.

Sharkey said he believes a tree he was near that was struck by the lightning is the reason he is still alive. 

“If it was a direct hit, I probably wouldn’t be here today. I am lucky that tree was there,” he said.

He noticed the storm getting near but mistakenly believed he had plenty of time before he needed to take shelter.

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“I saw the storm was approaching; it was thunder and lightning, so I thought I had time,” Sharkey said. “I was pretty sure I could finish up because we have a siren that goes off when it’s lightning, and it had not gone off yet.”

FLORIDA MAN BITTEN BY SHARK WHILE SPEARFISHING SAID HE HAD JUST ‘ONE OPTION’

In this Sept. 11, 2013, file photo, lightning strikes north of Mackworth Island in Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

But then Sharkey was suddenly struck by lightning and struggled to move. 

“I couldn’t move any of my extremities … it felt like static on you … everything was tingling like your hands and arms were asleep,” he said.

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Sharkey said he survived a rare incident of someone being struck by lightning and that he is lucky to be alive.

“It was just a complete fluke. It’s a one-in-a-million shot to get hit by lightning, and it’s not 100% survival. Luckily, that tree was there, and I am lucky to be alive,” he said.

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College soccer star, girlfriend dead as illegal immigrant’s record ignites lawmaker fury statewide

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College soccer star, girlfriend dead as illegal immigrant’s record ignites lawmaker fury statewide

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Lawmakers are voicing outrage as family and friends mourn a college soccer player and his girlfriend who were killed in a DUI crash allegedly caused by an illegal immigrant.

The case is reigniting debate over immigration enforcement and whether failures in the system contributed to the deaths of Fletcher Harris, 20, and Skylar Provenza, 19.

Prosecutors say Juan Alvarado Aguilar, 37, was driving under the influence when his vehicle slammed into the couple’s car on Friday, Jan. 16, killing them both and devastating their families and community. As mourners gather to say goodbye to Provenza and Harris, whose funeral was held Thursday, lawmakers are pointing to Aguilar’s immigration status and alleged criminal history as evidence of broader public safety failures they say demand immediate action.

North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Harris said the case highlights what he described as the deadly consequences of sanctuary policies and failures to enforce immigration laws. Harris argued the couple’s deaths were preventable and blamed state and local leadership for allowing the suspect to remain in the country and on the road.

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ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RAN FROM DEADLY WRONG-WAY DUI CRASH THAT KILLED MOTORCYCLIST, RECORDS SHOW

A funeral service for Fletcher Mark Daniel Harris was held at Williamson Chapel in Mooresville, North Carolina, on Thursday, January 22, 2026. Harris, 20, was killed in a car crash on Jan. 16, 2026. (Tim Jackson for Fox News Digital)

“Fletcher Harris and Skylar Provenza—two bright young lives full of promise—were brutally taken in a head-on crash allegedly caused by an illegal alien with a prior DUI who never should have been on our roads,” Harris said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This is the deadly cost of North Carolina’s sanctuary policies and radical Democrat refusal to enforce the law.”

Harris also questioned the lack of public response, suggesting the reaction would be far different in other cases.

“Where’s the outrage? Where are the protests? If this were any other tragedy, the streets would be filled—but when criminal aliens kill Americans, the silence from the Left is deafening.”

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CORNYN PUSHES ‘ZERO MERCY’ LAW TO DEPORT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF DEADLY DRUNK DRIVING

A funeral service for Fletcher Mark Daniel Harris was held at Williamson Chapel in Mooresville, North Carolina, on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Tim Jackson for Fox News Digital)

Authorities say the deadly crash occurred just after 11 p.m. on Jan. 16 in Rowan County, North Carolina, when a Chevrolet Silverado driven by Aguilar crossed the center line and slammed head-on into the car carrying Harris and Provenza. They were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said officers noted a strong odor of alcohol and that Aguilar appeared unsteady on his feet when he was arrested.

Court records reviewed by Fox News Digital show Aguilar had a prior driving-while-impaired charge from 2020 that was dismissed by a district attorney, a procedural move that has drawn renewed scrutiny following the deadly crash. Prosecutors also told the court that Aguilar had two prior failures to appear, and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer has been placed on him.

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GRIEVING FATHER SAYS DAUGHTER’S DEATH BY ILLEGAL ALIEN SHOWS COST OF SANCTUARY POLICIES

Juan Alvarado Aguilar is shown in a booking photo released by authorities. Police said Aguilar, 37, was identified as the driver of a Chevrolet Silverado involved in a DUI crash that killed two people. (Rowan County Sheriff’s Office)

Aguilar now faces two counts of felony death by vehicle, driving while impaired and other charges, and is being held on a bond of more than $5 million.

North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall said the deaths hit close to home and blamed what he described as failures in federal immigration enforcement. 

“I think it’s a failure of policy, and it’s a failure under the Biden administration, where essentially he allowed open borders,” Hall said. He argued that Democrats have taken the position that “no one should be deported, even those who are committing serious crimes,” adding that the suspect had previously been charged with DWI before the fatal crash.

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ILLINOIS FATHER SAYS PRITZKER SHOWS ‘INDIFFERENCE’ TO HIS DAUGHTER BEING KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

Hall pushed back against claims that North Carolina is a sanctuary state, pointing to legislative action taken in recent years to require cooperation with federal immigration authorities. He said that prior to 2018, all sheriffs in the state worked with ICE, but that changed after several Democratic sheriffs stopped honoring ICE detainers.

Republican lawmakers responded by passing legislation mandating cooperation with ICE, bills that were initially vetoed by then-Gov. Roy Cooper before lawmakers overrode the vetoes.

“So in this state right now, when somebody is charged with a crime, and they’re here illegally and ICE wants to take custody of that person, the local county sheriff has to do that,” Hall said.

MOTHER OF OFFICER KILLED BY ILLEGAL MIGRANT CRITICIZES MINNESOTA LEADERS’ ‘WARPED VIEW’ OF POLICE

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Fletcher Harris and Skylar Provenza are shown in a photo taken before their deaths. The two were killed in a DUI crash, according to authorities. (Instagram/ skylar_provenza)

Hall argued that enforcement later broke down at the federal level, despite state laws remaining in place, saying ICE under the Biden administration often failed to take custody of illegal immigrants charged with crimes.

He said stronger coordination between state and federal authorities is critical to preventing similar tragedies, crediting renewed enforcement efforts under the Trump administration and emphasizing the need for continued cooperation.

Reflecting on the victims, Hall said lawmakers are focused on preventing future losses.

“Know that we’re fighting very hard to make sure this never happens to anyone again,” he said.

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Harris was a standout student-athlete at Catawba College, where he played soccer and made the dean’s list. Provenza had just graduated in Esthetics from Dermacademy and was set to start her career at Datre Hair Co., according to her obituary.

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In a Facebook post, Provenza’s mother urged the public to reject hatred and honor the couple’s lives with love.

“Remember them. Remember love. Remember justice, and the Lord’s plan will prevail,” she wrote. “Hate will never bring them back. While my heart is broken, I pray for this world that we live in. Evil never wins, but love always will.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the North Carolina Democratic Party for comment. 

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Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

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Florida attorney general demands nursing board revoke license of nurse who wished injury on Karoline Leavitt

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Florida attorney general demands nursing board revoke license of nurse who wished injury on Karoline Leavitt

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Florida attorney general James Uthmeier is calling for the Florida Board of Nursing to revoke the license of a woman after she said she hoped White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suffers a severe injury in childbirth. 

“Women shouldn’t have to worry about a politically driven nurse who wishes them pain and suffering being in the delivery room during childbirth,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“It’s evil,” he added. “The Florida Board of Nursing must take action to keep this person away from patients permanently.”

CITY COUNCIL MEMBER RESIGNS AFTER GOING VIRAL ON LIBS OF TIKTOK FOR VILE COMMENT MADE TO TRUMP SUPPORTER

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is expecting her second child this year. (Andrew Harnik)

In a video posted on TikTok, Lexie Lawler, a former labor and delivery nurse at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital, said, “As a labor and delivery nurse, it gives me great joy to wish Karoline Leavitt a fourth degree tear.”

She continued with explicit language, saying she hoped Leavitt would suffer a permanent injury during childbirth.

“I hope you f——- rip from bow to stern and never s— normally again, you c—,” she said.

In December, Leavitt announced that she and her husband Nick are expecting a baby girl due in May, who will join their first son, Niko, born in July 2024.

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Lawler was subsequently fired from Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

The hospital told Fox News Digital that her comments “do not reflect our values or the standards we expect of healthcare professionals,” but Lawler has since defended her remarks in another video, and appeared to reference an unrelated shooting in Minnesota while responding to criticism over her comments.

WHITE HOUSE BABY BOOM IN FULL BLOOM AS USHA VANCE, TOP TRUMP AIDES ANNOUNCE PREGNANCIES

“Women shouldn’t have to worry about a politically-driven nurse who wishes them pain and suffering being in the delivery room during childbirth,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital in a statement.  (DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

“So they just murdered a man in Minnesota, they murdered a man in Minnesota, and you mother——- are coming after me because I used bad language? F— you. I’m on the right side of this. F— you.”

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A “GoFundMe” has been set up for Lawler which has raised nearly $5,000 with a goal of $14,000. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Florida Board of Nursing and Lawler for comment. 

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A GoFundMe has been set up for Lawler which has raised over $4,000 with a goal of $14,000.  (Photo illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)

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Grandson charged with murdering retired grandparents found dead in their South Carolina home

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Grandson charged with murdering retired grandparents found dead in their South Carolina home

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Authorities in upstate South Carolina have arrested the 19-year-old grandson of a retired couple found slain in their home earlier this month, charging him with two counts of murder in a case that has shaken a small rural community.

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said Levi Kevin Jones was taken into custody late Friday and charged in connection with the deaths of Larry Moore, 76, and Sandra Moore, 75, who were discovered inside their residence on Cromer Moore Road near Westminster on Jan. 15.

Jones is also charged with two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to arrest warrants obtained by Fox News Digital. He remains in custody pending a bond hearing.

The couple was found after a family member requested a welfare check when repeated attempts to reach them were unsuccessful. Investigators and the county coroner later determined the deaths were homicides.

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RETIRED SOUTH CAROLINA COUPLE FOUND DEAD IN HOMICIDE AT HOME

Larry and Sandra Moore are pictured during a church gathering at Calvary Church. The couple was later remembered by the congregation following their deaths. (Calvary Church Facebook)

According to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office, Larry Moore died from multiple stabbing injuries, while Sandra Moore died from manual strangulation. Autopsies were conducted the following day.

Arrest warrants allege Jones stabbed his grandfather multiple times in the torso and neck and strangled his grandmother, cutting off her airway and blood flow. Authorities said a knife was used during the attack.

Authorities have not provided a motive for the attack.

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The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said the couple’s grandson, Levi Kevin Jones, is charged with two counts of murder in the case, as well as two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. (Oconee County Sheriff’s Office)

The Moores were longtime residents of the area and well known in the community as the former owners of Moore & Moore Fish Camp, a local restaurant that operated for decades before the couple retired.

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They were also active members of Calvary Church, where friends described them as regular attendees.

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“They were always there,” Stacy Brooks, who attended church, told Fox News Digital. “You expected to see them every time you went. They were faithful people.”

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The Oconee County Coroner’s Office, which assisted in the investigation into the deaths of Larry and Sandra Moore, is shown in an exterior view. (Oconee County Coroner’s Office)

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Brooks said the killings have been difficult for residents of the small upstate South Carolina town to process.

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“This is a close community, and something like this just doesn’t happen often,” she said.

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The sheriff’s office previously said the killings appeared to be an isolated incident and that there was no ongoing threat to the public.



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