"The force was ridiculous. I was right here and I landed near the welcome mat."
Ryan Haggen was coming home around 10:30 Saturday night during the height of the strong storms. Suddenly, several bolts of lightning lit up the night sky. Running across the front lawn, Ryan remembers a blinding flash of light.
He fell, and when he looked down his pants were in flames and his shoes were on fire.
Barbara and Harry Haggen got a phone call from Ryan seconds before they walked in the door.
"We opened the door. He was sitting here, pants and shoes next to him, putting himself out. He was still smoldering."
The sophomore at Central Bucks West has picked up a few nicknames now. "Lightning, flash, sparky."
Ryan hoped a bolt of lightning might bring him something else. Something out of this world.
"Ironman just came out and me and my friends were joking maybe I would have some powers."
No superpowers. No side effects. He did however survive to celebrate an especially sweet sixteen.
"Everybody says the exact same thing: You're lucky you're alive."
Ryan's a baseball player. We're told he's pretty accident prone and has spent many hours in the emergency room so he didn't want to go to get checked out Saturday night. His parents have kept a very close eye on him. He seems just fine. In fact, he's playing in the game tonight.
