SEATAC, Washington — Linda and Tom Cook never thought this is how they'd make the news.
"We were really kind of hoping our 15 minutes of fame would be accepting a large check from the lottery," said Tom.
But nonetheless, they were lucky. The couple was driving southbound on East Marginal Way S. on Friday when Tom said he saw a flash of light and a power pole fall to the ground.
"I saw the next pole flash and fall, and the next one flash and fall, and it was catching us rapidly," he said.
In all, 26 poles crashed down and one of them took a direct hit on the Cooks' SUV.
"It hit almost dead center of the vehicle, in between us. If it hit on either the driver’s side or passenger’s side the roof comes down on one of us,” Tom said.
Due to fallen power lines in the street, paramedics had to walk to the SUV. They also had to wait until the power was turned off to rescue the couple.
Linda was able to walk out of the car, but Tom said firefighters needed to cut an opening for him to be freed.
Two days later, the Cooks are back home. They have several cuts and bruises, but not major injuries.
“Someone was looking out for us,” said Tom.
“We have to be thankful we’re alive,” added Linda.
