Exclusive: 15-year-old boy describes moments he was struck by lightning in Central Park
CENTRAL PARK (WABC) -- A 15-year-old boy who was struck by lightning in Central Park during a round of severe thunderstorms on Thursday is exclusively speaking to Eyewitness News about his condition.
A day in the park ended up as a night in the hospital for high school sophomore Yassin Khalifa.
He was enjoying a Central Park picnic with friends near the East Meadow when the storm blew in.
"I leaned up against a tree, and I told them, Oh, guys, let's ride out the storm, which in hindsight might not have been the best idea," Khalifa said.
The teen had no way of knowing that tree would be hit by lightning.
The jolt knocked him unconscious for a few minutes, but he was alert when taken by ambulance to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he was surrounded by loved ones.
He said he is being treated for second-degree burns on his neck and leg and expects to make a full recovery.
"Apparently, I'm pretty lucky, because my spine was directly against the tree and no nerve damage happened. So I'm like, not losing any sort of motor function. So I'm pretty happy about that," Khalifa said.
There was also a lot of damage around the Tri-State area.
A massive tree in Ridgewood, Queens, fell on a car and another downed tree made a mess in Maspeth, where toppled trees totaled parked vehicles on 60th Place.
Jose Rosas' mom told him he had to see it to believe it.
"She tells me that my car's done. And I told her what do you mean? She said come outside and that's what I see. Just the tree on top of the van," Jose Rosas said.
Out in Cranford, New Jersey a lawn was left looking like a carpet ripped out by a tree's roots, the rain pooling in the saturated ground that couldn't hold them anymore.
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