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A 15-year-old boy who was struck by lightning in New York City’s Central Park has spoken out after the shocking ordeal.
Yassin Khalifa was picnicking in the park with his friends Thursday afternoon when a thunderstorm rolled through, according to multiple local outlets who spoke with the teen.
Khalifa recalled telling his friends to take cover under a tree, which he told Eyewitness News, “in hindsight might not have been the best idea.”
“I lean up against the tree. Five seconds later, I am on the floor,” the teen told CBS News New York.
Khalifa doesn’t actually remember the moment he was struck by lightning, as he was knocked unconscious.
He described being “locked” in his body, which had sustained second-degree burns.
"I can see, but I can't talk. I can't move. So I'm just kind of locked in my body for a second until I get into the ambulance and I feel everyone trying to shake me,” Khalifa said.
Lightning strikes about 25 million times a year in the U.S., according to the National Weather Service. Roughly 20 people are killed and hundreds more are severely injured by lightning strikes annually around the country, the service says.
Khalifa’s mother, Khalida, told CBS News New York, "I was so scared to lose him because it was looking very, very bad.”
His sister, Reem, said her brother was “in a lot of pain.”
Khalifa told Eyewitness News that he expects to make a full recovery.
"Apparently, I'm pretty lucky, because my spine was directly against the tree and no nerve damage happened,” he said.
Khalifa’s freak accident has given Reem some perspective.
"We were beefing about, like, $10 this week, and that's why I've been annoyed at him, but that's something so simple. It means nothing in hindsight of everything,” she told CBS News New York of her brother.
In true sibling fashion, Reem found a way to crack a joke now the worst was behind them.
"I'm kind of mad, though, because his curls stayed intact and mine don't, and I haven't been electrocuted," she said.
Khalifa’s family is hopeful their boy can be released from the hospital this weekend.
