Taxi Driver Who Cheated Death Says ‘Mother Nature Wanted Me But She Can’t Have Me’

When Campbell Gillespie tells the passengers in the back of his cabin that he’s been struck by lightning, they think he’s spinning a yarn.

“I have to show them my chest where the gold chain vaporized into my skin,” he says with a laugh. “Then they say, ‘Oh my God,’ and I don’t hear another sound from them.”

In August 2003, the Scotsman, who lives in Prescot with his wife Christine, was struck by lightning directly in the chest while training for a half marathon in Waterloo Park. As several million volts coursed through his body, he fell face first into a deep puddle.

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Speaking to the ECHO, Campbell, who remembers nothing of the day itself but is able to describe it vividly through the memories of witnesses, said: “I went fifteen feet in the air and then came back face first.”

Lightning struck a gold chain Campbell was wearing around his neck. The chain disintegrated, but the gold cross it was attached to – given to him by his grandmother as a gift – survived without a trace.

Only the quick actions of his friends saved his life. They pulled him out of the puddle to prevent him from drowning, then one of them gave him first aid. Campbell said: “My running mate kept me alive for 20 minutes while the paramedics were on their way. She couldn’t do mouth to mouth because my face was destroyed. She only had to do compressions on my chest – he literally punched me in the chest to keep me alive.”

The next thing he remembers was waking up in intensive care at Fazakerley Hospital a week later. Campbell suffered a broken jaw and crushed teeth as the force of the electricity knocked him to the ground. He said, “My poor parents came down to see me and did not recognize me.”

One of the doctors who treated him said he looked like he had been “hit by a truck”. Speaking to the ECHO at the time of the incident, Dr Tristan Elkin said: “He had bleeding around his brain and his bones were crushed. The electricity must have been converted into kinetic energy, which added to the force with which it fell.”

Campbell said she was in “total shock” when she woke up and was told what had happened. “It was hard to come to terms with,” he explained. “I was given the last rites. My heart stopped six times and I had four blood clots. Still, I came back fighting on Thursday and Friday.”

While in hospital, the Scot underwent a grueling 14-hour operation. He told the ECHO: “The skin on my face was stretched back. I had a free facelift on the NHS. Joking aside, though, the pain was excruciating.” He was put on morphine, which he said made him feel like he was “on planet zog”.

With Campbell and the Lightning, it was a case of “force of nature meets force of nature.” He said, “I’m too stubborn to die. Mother Nature wanted me, but she couldn’t have me.”

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, between 30 and 60 people are struck by lightning each year in the UK, with an average of three deaths per year. A recent study by researchers at Germany’s Ilmenau University of Technology suggested that moist skin could reduce a person’s chances of dying if hit.

At over 20 years old, Campbell’s health is fragile. He feels the effects of lightning every day. He said: “I’m falling to pieces. My health is getting worse. It’s taken me 21 years to learn to walk again, talk again, feed myself again. And I’m only 25% back to what I was before it happened. I’m walking with two canes and looking at an amputation of my left leg – all because of one small moment on August 21, 2003.”

With the help of Christine, who he met in Aintree Asda a few years ago, Campbell wrote a book called ‘Lightning Man’ detailing his death-defying experience. Besides his day job as a taxi driver, he is a motivational speaker and loves to inspire people with his amazing story.

“My book is only short, but it packs a punch. It’s about never giving up. People are struggling right now, and if I can help someone by telling them what happened, my work is done. That’s what I need .”

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