Woman struck by lightning before Beyoncé concert speaks out

A Florida woman struck by lightning while walking her dog just hours ahead of attending a Beyoncé concert said she “died” but was brought back to life — and is “very fortunate” to have survived the dangerously close call.

More than a month after the terrifying brush with death, Rebecca Soto is still recovering at home, and was back at work this week.

But the thunderbolt still haunts her.

“It’s an astounding thing to realize and to think about,” Soto said in an interview with ClickOrlando. “Just like, that thought of like ‘I died.’ That’s pretty heavy… that’s a lot to process.”

Soto spent the early evening of Aug. 15 doing her nails and trying on outfits for Beyoncé’s “Renaissance World Tour” performance the next day in Tampa, where she was supposed to go with friends.

Later on, she took her dog, Drake, out for what was supposed to be a quick evening walk.

While Rebecca was out, her husband, Lauro Soto, said he heard a deafening thunderclap and ran outside to find his wife lying face down and unconscious on the sidewalk.

“When the ambulance picked her up… her heart stopped and [there was] no oxygen to the brain,” he recalled.

He previously recounted that medics, using a defibrillator, were able to get his wife’s heart beating again and “bring her back.”

Rebecca Soto spent more than a week in the hospital, surrounded by family and friends. Though the lightning hit left her with burns and some memory loss, her recovery has been nothing short of miraculous.

“I just keep coming back to the word grateful — grateful, and very fortunate to be where I am today and have healed as much as I have in the past three or four weeks,” she said.

The couple said the harrowing ordeal gave them a new appreciation for everyday moments of joy — like being able to eat dinner, play outside with their dog, watch TV and laugh together.

“I can’t take things like these for granted anymore,” Lauro Soto said.

But there’s one thing Rebecca Soto is still hung up on: She never got to see Queen Bey live on stage.  

“When we told her she missed the Beyoncé concert, she was devastated,” her husband has previously revealed with a laugh.

Yet Rebecca Soto remains hopeful she’ll still get to wear her special outfit – a slinky black top with spaghetti straps and silver fringe – to see her musical idol “another time.”