Couple who were struck by lightning say the terrifying incident led to ‘so many miracles’

A Florida couple who were struck by lightning while walking hand in hand have said they are 'grateful to be alive' following the rare incident.

Aaron Walenga and his wife Clare had dropped their children off at church, when disaster struck along the West Orange Trail in the state.

The incident, which took place on September 2, left the couple both 'on their face' after their umbrella was struck, WHSV reports.

Bystanders noticed the couple, and stopped to help, when they realized that Clare had stopped breathing.

Michael Sachetti Weyand, who had never performed CPR in his life, told WKMG: “Instinctually, I started to CPR, which instinctually is not something I do every day. But in that moment, I knew that I had to start."

The couple spent a couple of days in hospital, but thankfully made a recovery.

Speaking out about the terrifying incident to the outlet, Aaron said: “There were so many miracles that we witnessed from Clare being brought back to life to, the four of you [bystanders] being there on that trail at that time."

Clare then echoed that 'the gift of life is so beautiful'.

After the concussion, Clare suffered with short term memory loss, which she has now recovered from.

Aaron, who also fell face first on the ground recalled how he 'couldn't move his limbs'.

The 48-year-old wanted to reach out to his wife, although said he couldn't due to the fact he couldn't get up or even move.

"I was in the worst pain of my life," he said.

The couple, who are parents to three children, frequently go for walks near Downtown Winter Garden, Florida, on Wednesday nights, after dropping their kids off at the youth group.

On the day of the incident, the father of three said he did check his weather app via his cell phone, and noticed a storm 'brewing on the other side of town'.

However, the couple said they couldn't see any lightning, or hear any thunder. Therefore, they decided to walk back.

In Bodycam footage, police officers can be seen running towards the couple lying on the ground, surrounded by the Good Samaritans who stopped off to help them.

The couple were helped by Good Samaritans (WPLG Local 10)

There have sixth lightning related deaths in Florida this year.

In the whole of the US, the National Weather Service says there has been 14 deaths related to lightning in 2026 so far.

Last year, there were 20 overall.

The area in which the lightning strike happened, is also known as Lightning Alley, due to the frequency of lightning strikes per square mile each year.

As per Spectrum News 13, paramedics in Florida receive training in how to respond when someone has been struck by lightning.

Chief Meteorologist Bryan Karrick, says lightning strikes in the state 1.2 million times a year on average.

He advises that residents in the area should move indoors, even if there is no thunderstorm directly overhead.