School Counselor Nearly Struck by Lightning on Campus

A school counselor in South Carolina narrowly escaped danger as he was nearly struck by lightning while walking across campus.

Romulus McNeill, who works as a counselor at the Academy for Technology and Academics in Conway, South Carolina, was walking to his car with an umbrella during a thunderstorm on Thursday when a lightning bolt nearly struck him.

McNeill told WMBF that as he was about to leave the building after a Thursday night open house, he was thinking about whether to chance going out in the storm or wait it out.

“I took a chance and I said, ‘I hope I don’t get struck by lightning,” McNeill said.

School surveillance footage showed the moment a lightning bolt struck right next to the sidewalk was he was walking on. McNeill was so startled by the incident that he dropped his umbrella before quickly picking it back up again and running to his car.

“I felt a shock,” McNeill said Friday. “It was just kind of insane for it to happen like that. I was just trying to get home and get something to eat.”

Beyond being a bit shocked and frightened by the close call, McNeill did not suffer any serious injuries. The school counselor later posted the surveillance video to Facebook, where it had been viewed more than 76,000 times as of Sunday afternoon.