Craig Kizer points out a hole in his driveway he believes was created by a lightning strike.
Leader photo/CRAIG HAUPERT

A Niles man says a lightning bolt came within three feet of striking his home early Tuesday morning, leaving three large craters in his driveway.

Craig Kizer, who lives in the 3300 block of West Bertrand Road, said he woke up to a loud boom coming from the west side of his property around 4:30 a.m.

“I knew it was a lightning strike, and I said, ‘that was awfully close.’ I had no idea it was that close,” he said.

Kizer found a hole three-feet in diameter on the edge of a driveway on the west side of his property. The hole, where Kizer said the lightning hit, displaced asphalt and concrete pieces six inches thick. There was mud splatter on the corner of his garage and damage to the siding on the west end of the garage. There were two other large holes in the driveway, one of which caused a large flowering bush to partially uproot.

Kizer said the strike damaged a window and electronics in his home.

He is thankful the lightning bolt didn’t hit his garage.

“I don’t know what would’ve happened,” he said.