Adelaide teen narrowly avoids violent lightning strike which sent tree debris flying more than 100m away

An Adelaide teen is lucky to be alive after narrowly avoiding being struck by a lightning bolt today.

The 15-year-old was working on his car around 11am (ACDT) in Redwood Park when a 20m gum tree nearby was blown apart by the strike, sending huge chunks of wood around a 100m away.

The boy was knocked off his feet and taken to hospital after the jolt in a stable condition, with doctors monitoring his heart.

He is expected to make a full recovery.

Neighbours described the bolt as sounding like a “cannon” and a “gunshot”, with emergency crews spending over an hour cleaning up debris.

The bolt was one of more than 50,000 lightning strikes across South Australia today.