Michelle Bayne is lucky to be alive.
The country music fan, 33, was among the 22,000 people at Route 91 Harvest festival Sunday (Oct. 1) when a gunman opened fire, killing 58 and injuring another 527.
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In an exclusive interview with CMT Hot 20 Countdown, the San Diego native tells her account of the tragedy and reveals the moment she knew something was wrong.
“The lights went completely out and [Jason Aldean] started walking off the stage and we noticed that people were moving back towards us, and running back towards us,” Bayne says. “And I think for me, I was still in shock, not really understanding what was going on, until the woman in front of us fell on the ground.”
What followed was a frantic search for safety and a realization that Bayne herself had been grazed with a bullet.
“I kept complaining that my head hurt, and I didn’t know why my head hurt so bad,” she remembers. “And I took my hat off, and I put my hand on my head and my hand was covered with blood.”
Bayne received five staples in her head and was sent home, but she knows some weren’t as fortunate, adding she’s “just really thankful” for the “brave people that ran in there to help.”
Related: Brittany Aldean Details Horror of Las Vegas Shooting
“One big thing that I want to share with everybody is that, I know that we’re in a lot of rough political times, but everybody was just helping everybody,” Bayne says. “And it didn’t matter what color your skin was or what political belief you had. But there were people giving compressions during active fire... and there were people in the streets that were offering up their trucks for people to jump in the back to get to the hospital.”
Hear Katie Cook’s full interview with Michelle Bayne this weekend during a special Hot 20 Hope and Healing, airing Saturday and Sunday (10/7 and 10/8) at 9a/8c.
Photo: Getty Images