HAMPTON — Hampton police Officer Alex Reno is a lucky man, surviving a lightning strike early yesterday morning during a traffic stop on the Hampton/Seabrook Harbor Bridge.
But not only did Reno survive an often life-ending event, he's earning the admiration of his peers for finishing his shift after being released from the hospital.
According to Reno's superior officer, Hampton police Lt. Daniel Gidley, during the midnight shift patrol at Hampton Beach, Reno was pursuing a car for a traffic stop along Route 1A. The car was heading south toward Seabrook, Gidley said, when Reno, whom Gidley joking called "aka Sparky," pulled it over in Hampton, but on the Seabrook side of the bridge.
It was about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, in the middle of a raging thunderstorm with frequent lightning bolts that lit up the sky along the New Hampshire seacoast.
"As he was approaching the vehicle, lightning hit the bridge and Alex. It knocked him right to the ground," Gidley said.
Fortunately, Hampton police trainee Daniel Hanbury was riding with Reno.
"(Hanbury) heard a loud crack, saw a bright flash and watched his partner go down," Gidley said. "He didn't know what it was, a lightning bolt or a gunshot. He got out of the car and took appropriate action to help his partner."
Amazingly, Gidley said Reno got back up on his feet not long after receiving a mighty jolt. He went first to the Hampton Beach fire station, then to the hospital. But after being checked at the hospital, he was released.
"He came back here to the police station after the hospital released him," Gidley said. "This (Wednesday) morning he went off to Hampton District Courthouse (in Seabrook). He took care of some business on a pending case before heading home. He finished out his shift."
Reno's accident and return to duty were the talk of the courthouse yesterday.
A Portsmouth resident and a member of the National Guard, Reno has been with the Hampton Police Department for less than 10 years.
Gidley said Reno is in for a lot of ribbing from his fellow officers before his ordeal is put to rest. A new nickname may stick before this is over, but that doesn't undermine how the Hampton Police Department feels about the way he conducted himself.
"He's a really dedicated police officer," Gidley said.
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
