Lightning Kills Woman Minutes Before Proposal

It was supposed to be the perfect day, even though it was raining on and off. Richard Butler had invited girlfriend Bethany Lott on a hike—and had an engagement ring tucked in his pocket. But as the Knoxville, Tenn., couple walked along the North Carolina trail, a storm rumbled in; Butler said he remembers three burst of lightning, the last of which hit Lott then traveled back to him. “I was spun 180 degrees and thrown several feet back,” he said. “My legs turned to Jell-O, my shoes were smoking and the bottom of my feet felt like they were on fire.”

He found Lott lying on the ground, reports the Asheville Citizen-Times. “She didn't say anything, and I turned around and she was laying a few feet away, and I crawled to her,” he said. “I did CPR for probably 15 minutes and the whole time was trying her cell phone, but I couldn't get anything out.” Unable to carry her in his weakened state, he ran to get help, but it was too late. “I put the ring on her finger while the EMTs were working on her,” he said. “They are listing me as her fiancé in the obituaries.” (More lightning stories.)