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Young Boy Hit By Lightning

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SMITHFIELD — A summer wedding came off happily Saturday, but not before an unwelcome guest -- lightning -- gave everyone a scare. It struck an 14-year-old boy. Though everybody is now relieved, the weather caused quite a scare earlier during the storm.

A witness said the boy was in front of a support pole for the wedding tent, and did not have shoes on.

Although the bolt of lightning struck across the road, Jason Royster felt the electricity shoot through his body.

"I was just there trying to hold up the tent, and I saw a big flash beside me," Royster said. "I just felt a big jump."

Royster and family members were trying to keep a tent from blowing away. They were gripping metal poles as the powerful storms rolled through Johnston County.

The lightning, wind and heavy rain snapped trees and powerlines. They flooded streets in downtown Selma and eventually tore down the wedding tent in Jason Royster's yard.

It has all been a lesson about the power of Mother Nature.

"I'm not going out in the rain anymore," Royster vowed.

Johnston County paramedics checked him out and said that he will be fine. He was very lucky.

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