Lightning Strike Survivor Recalls Moment He Was Shocked

A South Carolina school counselor shared a video of the shocking moment he was zapped by a lightning bolt on Aug. 15.

Academy for Technology and Academics School Counselor Romulus McNeill considers himself to be lucky to walk away from a lightning strike without any major injuries.

“Cameras caught my crazy experience with lightning,” McNeill said on Facebook. “Super thankful to have been able to motor scoot out of there without major injures.”

On the surveillance footage McNeill uploaded to social media he appears to carry a black umbrella while walking across the academy campus back to his car parked in Conway, 130 miles east of Columbia.

Just before he exits the frame a small lightning bolt appears near his right leg, causing McNeil to drop his umbrella and reach for his leg.

“It jolted me,” he commented on Facebook. “I just knew I was done … [I] just felt the intensity of it.”

While the bolt was startlingly noisy, it did not stop him from walking back to his car after an open house event.

“It was so loud and scared the heck out of me,” McNeill said, adding he did not need to visit the hospital emergency room.

“I felt a shock.” https://t.co/qGh5MD4ehE

— WIS News 10 (@wis10) August 17, 2019

The odds of being struck by lightning are one in 700,000 according to the National Geographic. This low probability is encouraging for McNeill who is now thinking about trying his luck with the lottery.

“That’s what they say bro,” he said. “’bout to look up the numbers for lightning in the lottery book.”

Tonight, @InsideEdition is doing a story on this unsettling piece of video, in which a school counselor in South Carolina was walking when lightning struck nearby. I was interviewed about lightning safety, and may appear in their story. https://t.co/QiRHS1AjGW pic.twitter.com/WsaPBzxlvd

— Geoff Cornish (@StormOfCorn) August 19, 2019

WATCH it happen: https://t.co/w5irjL59AS

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) August 19, 2019

Before McNeill left work he joked with his colleagues about being struck by lightning.

“I took a chance and I said, ‘I hope I don’t get struck by lightning,” he told WMBF News.

WHOA!!! A South Carolina guidance counselor had quite the scare when a bolt of lightning struck near inches from him as he was
walking to his car. https://t.co/oZDrusFwNh

Source – Romulus McNeill and Horry County Schools. | Lightning strike inches awa… https://t.co/vrZ1Owjf7C pic.twitter.com/MTLpuAt1lF

— Live5News (@Live5News) August 16, 2019

The video has already been viewed more than 191,000 times, been liked more than 474 times, and shared over 449 times.