Struck by Lightning and Declared Dead for 28 Minutes—What Dannion Brinkley Says He Saw on the Other Side
Few people on Earth can speak with as much firsthand experience about what happens after death as Dannion Brinkley.
In 1975, the former U.S. Marine was struck by lightning—a freak accident that left him legally dead for 28 minutes before he miraculously came back to life.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the odds of being struck by lightning in any given year are less than one in a million. In short: it’s incredibly rare. But not impossible—and Dannion Brinkley knows that all too well.
The Day Everything Changed
On September 17, 1975, Brinkley was on the phone when lightning struck. The bolt traveled down the phone line, surged through the receiver, and blasted into his body. At that moment, he was just an ordinary man—an athlete, a businessman, a veteran.
“It went down my spine and into the side of my head above my ear,” Brinkley told 8 News Now.
“The nails in my shoes melted into the floor. I saw the ceiling as I was thrown into the air. Then a ball of fire came through the room. I was burning. I couldn’t move. I was on fire.”
But that wasn’t the end of the story. It was just the beginning.
28 Minutes Dead
After the lightning strike, Brinkley was declared dead. He was even taken to the morgue. But during those 28 minutes, he says he had an out-of-body experience that changed everything.
Hovering above his lifeless body, Brinkley claimed he could see the paramedics working on him and later, even rode along with the ambulance, watching from above as they rushed him to the hospital.
He described passing through a tunnel and arriving at what he called the Crystal City, where he encountered a radiant spiritual being made of light.
A Life Review—Unlike Anything You Could Imagine
In an interview with the T&H – Afterlife YouTube channel, Brinkley recalled witnessing a “360-degree panorama” of his entire life.
“You watch it from a second-person point of view,” he said.
“And then you’re asked, ‘What difference did you and God make in the life you just reviewed?’”
For Brinkley, it wasn’t just a visual experience—it was a deep emotional reckoning.
Critics or Not, His Story Hasn’t Changed
Of course, not everyone buys into Brinkley’s incredible account. Yet he’s never wavered in his version of events—and his near-death experiences didn’t end there.
During open-heart surgery in 1989, he says he once again crossed over and was “reunited with his angelic instructors.” The result? A renewed purpose, and what he describes as new psychic and spiritual abilities he uses to help others, especially those facing death themselves.
Years later, after undergoing brain surgery, he had yet another near-death experience.
“When you realize you’re a spiritual being and you don’t die—you’re not going to hell—that’s enough to inspire you to change,” he told 8 News Now.
So what do you think happens after we die?
Coincidence? Delusion? Or a glimpse into something greater?
Let us know in the comments. 👇