Man Nearly Struck by Lightning Says He Was Saved by an 'Angel'

Romulus McNeill told Inside Edition that he feels blessed to have survived the brush with death.

A South Carolina man with an umbrella had a brush with death when a bolt of lightning crashed down inches from where he was walking. 

The incredible scene was caught by a surveillance camera Thursday at the South Carolina school where he works as a guidance counselor in Horry County. 

“Boom, heard a loud noise, I seen a bright flash and felt a little static through my body,” Romulus McNeill told Inside Edition. 

He said he was walking to his car when the lightning hit and is stunned that he survived.

“I'm super blessed. I don't use the word lucky, I use the word blessed. Lucky is when you hit the lottery, the Powerball. That's lucky. Blessed is when you come out of a situation and survive,” he said. “It felt like something did hit me. Something did touch me and I think an angel touched me for sure.” 

He added that the umbrella could have been “one of two or three conductors” that attracted the bolt.

“I stepped in water, I had keys in my hand, had a phone in my pocket and I had a little ... umbrella in my left hand,” he said.

McNeil said he has a plan for the next time there's a storm, saying, “If I see any lightning, no matter where I am, I’m gonna spend the night there. I've learned my lesson.”

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