19-Year-Old Struck by Lightning Miraculously Survives: 'I Should Be Dead Right Now'

Brendan Darby was out for a jog behind Chatham Middle School in New Jersey when a giant bolt of lightning struck him. 

“Right as it happened, I thought, I should be dead right now,” Darby, 19, told WCBS. "... You don't think it can happen to you but it can."

Darby said he doesn't remember much. He woke up on the ground. 

“I just remember waking up, a lot of confusion, adrenaline. I grabbed my keys, wallet, phone, and ran for help,” he said.

John Tunny saw Darby wandering around and called 911. 

“Definitely, clearly like, disoriented," Tunny said. "He was like, ‘Mister, mister.’ I was like, ‘Hey, are you OK?’ and he said, ‘I think I got struck by lightning.’ So we, of course, we went into, like, 911 mode."

Darby still doesn't understand why he was so unlucky.

“I feel, why did this happen to me?" he said. 

But he's thankful to be alive. 

“Definitely going to start checking the weather more often," he said. "Check the radar, don’t go outside if it’s going to thunder or lightning, even if it’s a 30% chance.”

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