Yahoo News Amy Robach recalls Fourth of July when lightning struck both her parents and uncle
“It was a very traumatic thing,” she said while recounting the cautionary tale.
As Americans prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July, former Good Morning America host Amy Robach shared a traumatic event her family experienced on a prior Independence Day.
"One Fourth of July when I was 14 — I mean, it’s actually really serious — that’s when my parents got struck by lightning, and my uncle did too," Robach said in a new episode of her podcast Amy and T.J. while explaining why her family’s Independence Day traditions altered during her youth. "So it happened on the Fourth of July. We were all gathered at Briscoe Park and it changed the Fourth of July for us.”
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“It was a very traumatic thing. My mom and dad got seriously injured,” she continued. Robach said that her mother spent weeks in the hospital as a result of the incident, while her father spent time in the ICU. “Their tennis shoes got blown off of their feet. Their clothes had to be cut off of them. My dad had to have CPR performed on him.”
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Yet Robach’s parents were more fortunate than another family member.
“My uncle Jack actually ultimately died,” she said. “He was up against the tree that [was struck], and my parents were blown standing next to him, and he just crumbled.”
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Amy RobachRobach encouraged listeners to stay vigilant during this weekend’s festivities.
“Lightning kills, and the Fourth of July is one of those holidays where everybody’s out and about, and it tends to be a thunderstorm-heavy holiday,” she said. “Things in my house changed after that. I kind of got into a habit of traveling around the Fourth of July. I haven’t even been in the country during the Fourth of July for many, many years.”
Robach also said that she didn’t expect to share her family’s story when she began recording the episode.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know I was gonna say any of those things,” she said. “They just came out. Sorry, I apologize if that just was a downer for anybody.”
Listen to the full Amy and T.J. episode above.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
