Bevin Prince Opens Up About the Death of Husband Who Was Killed By Lightning: "It Was Instant"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CH6VuZ3AYCH/

“One Tree Hill” actor Bevin Prince is speaking out for the first time about the death of her husband William Friend, who was struck and killed by lightning in July. Friend, who was the CEO of digital media company Bisnow, was 33.

“I’m just so proud. I’m so proud that I got to do life with him,” Prince said in a new interview with ABC News that aired Dec. 9. “He was one of the the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life, by far. He lit up every single room he came into. You never forgot when you met Will Friend.”

Prince told the outlet that on July 3, she and Friend were boating with friends and family near their home in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. She explained that it was something they did often. They saw a storm coming in, but kept monitoring the situation. “We look up and we can see the storm in a distance,” she explained, adding that there were “60-some” boats out there and “no urgency” from anyone to get off the water.

Prince ended up jumping to another boat with her father. Friend was struck by lightning. “It was instant,” Prince told ABC News. “They rushed over to him and, at the time, a police boat happened to be coming by, so they moved him over to the police boat quickly. And from what I’ve heard, you know, spent a lot of time and care trying to resuscitate him.”

“Right before it hit him, he lit a cigar and he looked at my father and he said, ‘If we get struck by lightning, Mike, this is where I wanna be.’ And then it happened,” Prince added. “I believe it was really his time.”

She explained, “He was 33 years old. It was July 3 and I believe the exact time that the lightning struck was 3:13 p.m. So knowing that all the resources were there to potentially save him, I have to believe that something bigger beyond me was calling him.”

Prince said she was so grateful for how people rallied around her, including her former “One Tree Hill” castmates, Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush. “It’s incredible and it’s unfortunate and fortunate that in this situation it takes a tragedy to be able to see how people rally and support and love you,” Prince said. “And I’m incredibly fortunate in this situation.”

Back in July, Bisnow COO and CFO Gregg Mayer said in a statement announcing Friend’s death, “What made Will special was his innate ability to inspire and motivate people — to raise people higher than they thought possible. That is the culture he fostered at Bisnow and, ultimately, that will be his lasting legacy.”

Source: Read Full Article