Former actress Bevin Prince’s husband William Friend died after being struck by lightning on Sunday. He was 33 and was weeks away from celebrating his 34th birthday.

Local News station WECT6 News reported that authorities found Friend on a boat where he had been struck by lightning during a storm.

The New Hanover County Sheriff and Wilmington Police Department’s Marine Unit had responded to the tragedy after civilians flagged them down during a routine patrol.

Officers performed CRP on Friend while transporting him to Bradley Creek Marina to EMS and continued CPR resuscitation for another 20 minutes in the ambulance. William Friend was pronounced dead at the scene.

Friend’s body was taken to the hospital for his family members to identify him.

National Lightning Safety Councilman John Jensenius shared knowledge of being near water without shelter during a thunderstorm, “Some people think that there’s some protection just based on a little bit of metal, but really there isn’t when you consider that lightning gets into the metal systems of your boat and you’re very close to those."

"So. really. very little protection, especially if you’re an open boat. Unfortunately, you know, we still had captains in the area helping people trying to get them out of the storm because their batteries were dead or the boats were aground,” he added.

Bevin Prince, 39, rose to fame in 2004 as a One Tree Hill cast member. She and Friend had married in May 2016 and moved to Wrightsville Beach during the COVID-19 pandemic so they could be close to family.

Since her Hollywood days, Prince has been working as a fitness trainer. In 2019 she launched Recess by Bevin Prince with her British businessman husband.