A spokesman for City Utilities of Springfield says wind and rain probably damaged the line, although the National Weather Service says the highest recorded gust around the time it happened was 26 miles per hour.

Police say the power line shocked the 28-year-old rider when it knocked him into a mud puddle. An ambulance took him to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

"It was like a thump and than zzzzz. It was just like somebody squeezing me all my nerves and all my muscles were tense and I couldn't get away from it," said Gared Crabtree, as he lay in his hospital bed on Tuesday afternoon.

Crabtree can't believe his luck.

"I felt it immediately after I hit my head," he said. "I was looking at my hands to see if they turned into hot dogs yet."

Crabtree says what happened next is a blur in his mind. His bike was gone and he was in a puddle. He believes the power line also hit the water.

Befuddled and confused, he remembers crawling out of the puddle while witnesses watched in disbelief.

"They were just like, 'Man, I can't believe you are alive. That's the most electricity I've ever seen anyone get zapped with. You should be dead,'" he said.

Crabtree is in the St. John's Hospital Burn Unit, where his heart is being monitored to ensure it wasn't damaged. He says his back and neck are still in a lot of pain.

As he recovers, he just wonders what caused the line to break. That's a question the CU spokesman says is too soon to be answered.

"As to what brought this particular line down, we're not sure whether it was wind, whether it was lightning or what," said Joel Alexander.

Alexander says the matter has been turned over to CU's safety and legal departments.

As for Crabtree, he hopes to be out of the hospital soon and back on the bike.

"Absolutely. Just not in the rain soaking wet."