Boy, 15, struck by lightning in Manhattan's Central Park

Kerry Burke, Roni Jacobson and Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News on Jun 19, 2025

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NEW YORK — A teenager out for a walk was struck by lightning in a freak occurrence in Central Park, police said on Thursday afternoon.

The 15-year-old boy was strolling through the famed park when a thunderstorm suddenly broke out, with lighting striking him around 3:45 p.m. on the park’s East Drive near E. 100th St. according to police.

He was standing under a tree when lighting struck it, and the electric current jumped from the tree to a metal chain he was wearing around his neck, according to a police source.

“We found him sitting on the path right there,” a police officer told a Daily News reporter. “He was still conscious. He’s lucky to be alive.”

EMS transported the boy to Weill Cornell Medical Center with a neck injury, police said. He is in serious but stable condition, according to cops.

The odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are less than one in a million, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Almost 90% of lighting strike victims survive, according to the CDC.

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