A bolt of lightning injured a customer and the owner of Allstar Motors in Rogers yesterday afternoon, said Melinda Harrison, office manager for the company and stepdaughter of the owner.
Ronald Harris, 67, owner of Allstar Motors car dealership, was taken to Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville while Wesley Duarte, was taken to Mercy Hospital in Rogers, Harrison said. They were taken to separate hospitals so they could each have their own trauma team, she said.
Mike Gerster, mechanic at the dealership, saw a purple bolt of lightning strike the ground between the two men before they fell down, Harrison said. There was no rain or thunder at the time, she said.
"Everybody's shocked," she said. "It's truly a freak accident."
Harris was in intensive care on Friday, Harrison said. He has six broken ribs, a hematoma on his eye and is being watched for symptoms of possible internal burns, she said.
"He looks like he's been hit by a baseball bat," she said.
Medical personnel at Mercy Hospital are monitoring Duarte's heart, Harrison said. He also has a broken nose and scrapes on his face and hands, she said.