Boy, 15, Survives Lightning Strike in Central Park, Police Say

New York|Boy, 15, Survives Lightning Strike in Central Park, Police Say

A 15-year-old boy survived being struck by lightning in Central Park on Thursday afternoon, the police said.

The boy was standing under a tree near 100th Street on the park’s east side around 3:40 p.m. when lightning struck the tree, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Electrical current transferred from the tree to the boy’s metal chain necklace, the official said.

An officer at the scene said the boy was found sitting on the ground by a walking path; the officer declined to give his name. The boy, whose name was not released, was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and treated for minor burns, the law enforcement official said. He was expected to recover.

The strike occurred as a band of heavy thunderstorms moved through the area, packing stiff winds and hard rain and causing airport delays.

About nine of 10 people struck by lightning in the United States survive, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Still, lightning is among the leading causes of weather-related deaths in the United States.

From 2009 to 2018, an average of 27 Americans a year were killed by lightning, according to the National Weather Service. In 2021, a 13-year-old boy was on the sand at Orchard Beach in the Bronx when he was fatally struck by lightning.

On Thursday, the area where the strike occurred was roped off with yellow police tape for about an hour afterward as showers continued to pelt the park. By 5:15 p.m., the storm had passed and people were walking their dogs in the sun.

Luke Caramanico contributed reporting.