Florida couple recounts 'miraculous' rescue after surviving harrowing lightning strike during evening stroll

A Florida couple said they experienced nothing short of a miracle earlier this month when a bolt of lightning suddenly struck them during an evening stroll and sparked a frantic rescue by several good Samaritans whose heroism was caught on camera.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Aaron Walenga, 48, and his wife, Clare, 43, recounted the harrowing moment in Winter Haven that left Aaron disoriented and paralyzed on the ground, police bodycam video shows, as bystanders rushed in to perform lifesaving measures on his unconscious wife.

"I couldn't move the way I wanted to," Aaron said.

"I'm trying to get up.

I am trying to get to Clare … I'm trying to talk, and I'm not really able to." Aaron and Clare said the incident happened Sept.

2, after the couple dropped off their three children at a weekly church youth group gathering.

DASHCAM CAPTURES TERRIFYING MOMENT LIGHTNING NEARLY STRIKES UTAH TRUCK DRIVER "We dropped our kids off at church, and we use that as our date night, and we looked forward to it," he said.

"So we went out and had dinner and then, we love to go for a walk." As they walked hand in hand along the popular West Orange Trail, a nearby storm quickly rolled in and a bolt of lightning struck the couple without warning.

The next thing Aaron remembers was waking up in severe pain and confused.

"My first thought was that we got hit by a car," he said.

"I thought maybe a car just ran us over from behind because getting struck by lightning is nothing that would even enter our minds," Aaron said.

MONTANA TEEN THROWS LASSO TO MAN IN YELLOWSTONE RIVER IN SPLIT-SECOND RESCUE While still disoriented, Aaron said he saw bystanders and first responders tending to his unresponsive wife.

Four good Samaritans had apparently rushed to the scene, immediately calling 911 and performing CPR on Clare before responders arrived roughly 10 minutes later, the couple said.

Witnesses told Clare that she had turned blue and stopped breathing for three to four minutes.