The 15-year-old boy who was struck by lightning in Central Park said he’s feeling “lucky” that the electric shock only left him with burns.
High school sophomore Yassin Khalifa told ABC 7 News from his hospital bed that he was enjoying a picnic with his friends in the park’s East Meadow Thursday afternoon when they saw the black storm clouds roll in.
Khalifa said he leaned up against a tree to keep out of the rain and suggested they “ride it out” — which, he admitted, “might not have been the best idea.”
A bolt of lightning struck the tree near 101st Street and 5th Avenue around 3:40 p.m., knocking him unconscious for a few minutes.
When he finally came to, he was in an ambulance rushing towards New York Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center.
He was treated for second-degree burns on his neck and leg — but the teenager realizes the damage could have been much worse.
“Apparently, I’m pretty lucky, because my spine was directly against the tree and no nerve damage happened,” Khalifa said.
“So I’m like, not losing any sort of motor function. So I’m pretty happy about that.”
Some 40 million lightning strikes hit the ground in the US every year – but the chances of an individual being struck is less than one in a million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There were 444 Americans who were struck by lightning between 2006 and 2021.
The survival rate is more than 90%, the agency said.
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