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EL MIRAGE, Ariz. - One year ago, the Valley was under a major weather alert. A powerful monsoon drenched the Valley. Strong winds also took out trees and powerlines and left parks under several inches of water.
The storm also changed the lives of two El Mirage teenagers. They were walking in the park when they were struck by lightning. The bolt was powerful enough to stop one of the teen's hearts. We caught up with that teen on the year anniversary of the strike.
"I was dead, I was dead for 18 minutes," Josiah Weidman said. On Aug. 8, 2018, Weidman laid in the park near his house, lifeless after being struck by lightning while skateboarding with a friend.
"Sometimes I'll think, 'Wow, I got struck by lightning, that's crazy,'" Weidman said. "And then sometimes I'm like, 'Eh, whatever.'"
Someone nearby gave the then 13-year-old CPR. He was in a medically-induced coma and left the hospital five days later. His mother says that today, on the one- year anniversary, it's like it never even happened — and that's hard to believe.
"There's no lasting effects — he doesn't have anything wrong with him," Krista Weidman said. "It's as if he never got struck by lightning and that is the miracle of it all."
The two believe that faith, fight, and little bit — or a lot of bit — of luck led them to today.
"Now ever since that happened, I need to live life more," Josiah said. "I don't know when it's going to get taken away, that's my message. Live life because you don't know when it's going to be gone. Go for stuff. If you're scared to do something, go ahead and do it."