The lone survivor of a lightning strike across from the street from the White House gave an interview for the first time since the incident, expressing survivor’s guilt after the three other victims died and sharing the story of her recovery.
Amber Escudero-Kontostathis, 28, was standing under a tree, taking shelter from the storm with three strangers, when the lightning struck on Aug. 4. She recounted how her heart stopped a few times, but was miraculously saved by medical professionals. She suffered second-degree burns down her side and now has to use a walker.
THIRD PERSON DIES FROM LIGHTNING STRIKE NEAR WHITE HOUSE
“I don’t know why I survived,” she told ABC’s Good Morning America. “I don’t feel good about being the only survivor. That’s for sure. I’m grateful, but I just don’t feel good about being the only one.”
Escudero-Kontostathis said she doesn’t remember much about the incident, only that just prior, she was conversing with two of the strangers, a couple celebrating their anniversary. The other person was a businessman from Los Angeles visiting Washington, D.C.
She also expressed her frustration about her condition.
“I forget that I can’t just get up and do stuff. I have to use a walker, for example,” she told Good Morning America. “You wake up, and you think that you can just get up and go and brush your teeth or get a cup of coffee yourself, and I can’t — my whole left side’s, like, pretty charred. Mentally also a little frustrated because I want to be working and doing things.”
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In the segment, she was also able to meet the two good Samaritans who saved her life. One recalled holding her hand as she was rushed to the intensive care unit.
For her survival, Escudero-Kontostathis partially credits her platform Dr. Martens with sizable soles made out of rubber, which she believes insulated her from the lightning strike.
