A day at the beach turned scary when a teenager was so frightened by a thunderstorm while on a stopped chairlift, she made a decision to jump off. INSIDE EDITION speaks with the teen.
There was panic as a day at the beach turned into a nightmare for a teenager stranded on a ride, 35 feet in the air.
The chairlift suddenly stalled when a violent thunderstorm rolled in. The terrifying storm was captured on camera by beachgoers up and down the Jersey Shore.
With lightning crashing down all around them, all beachgoers were warned to get off the beach. But the stranded girl panicked and then did the unthinkable. She jumped 35 feet straight down.
The teenager today is remarkably unscathed.
Seventeen-year-old Melanie Rossomando was celebrating her birthday in Seaside Heights, the resort town made famous by Snookie and the gang on the Jersey Shore.
Rossomando told INSIDE EDITION, "I didn't think just twice about it. I just jumped."
She decided to go for one last turn on the sky ride when the storm hit.
"The way my hair was blowing, the way the seat was rocking, the lightning was so close," said Rossomando.
Other sunbathers ran for shelter as Rossomando screamed for help.
Thankfully, the soft sand broke her fall.
INSIDE EDITION asked our viewers in an online poll if she did the right thing by jumping.
40% of you said yes, but 60% say she should have stayed put.
