Port Charlotte pastors shocked by power lines recovering

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.- Two pastors shocked by power lines outside of the Community Life Center in Port Charlotte are on the road to recovery.

Pastor Mark Coffey and Pastor Kalvin Kresser were in a cherry picker on Friday, attempting to trim a tree when they hit nearby power lines.

“We were scared you know, we thought we both were going to die. We didn’t know if there was current flowing or not,” said Coffey.

Coffey tells WINK News, moments after being shocked, he felt completely numb and couldn’t feel his hand or leg. He says it’s a miracle to be alive.

“Waking up, my whole left side of my body was completely numb, I couldn’t move fingers, arms, legs on the left side.”

Coffey says Kresser was burned badly when his shirt went up in flames.

“What was left of his shirt was what was on fire and that’s what I put out, and also on his pants,” said Coffey. “Thank God that he’s going to be okay and we’re going to move forward.”

The surge of electricity rippled through Coffey’s body, leaving him with a limp and a bandaged foot and hand.

“I can say, God was with us, even just hitting that, that brief second, the amount of electricity that went through there should have killed us.”

Coffey says Kresser should be released from Blake Medical Center on Monday. Although Kresser suffered serious burns, he has been able to get up and move around.