“I’m just kind of locked in my body for a second”

Yassin Khalifa can’t remember the moment he was struck by lightning, but he can still feel the pain.

“No one actually thinks that they’re gonna get hit by lightning,” he said.

The 15-year-old was picnicking in Central Park with friends Thursday afternoon when a fast-moving storm rolled in.

“So I suggest to my friends we should go hang by a tree for a second, and I lean up against the tree. Five seconds later, I am on the floor,” he said.

The lightning knocked him unconscious.

“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,” Yassin said.

He was hospitalized with second-degree burns covering his torso and legs.

Yassin’s sister, Reem Khalifa, and his mother, Khalida Khalifa, rushed to his side.

“He was in pretty bad shape at first and in a lot of pain,” Reem said.

“I was so scared to lose him because it was looking very, very bad,” Khalida Khalifa said.

“We never learned about lightning”

Standing underneath a tree is the second leading cause of lightning strike deaths, according to the National Weather Service. But the Khalifa siblings say as city kids, they had no idea.

“We learned about fire drills. We learned about lockdown drills. We know how to escape an active shooter in our schools, shelter in place. We never learned about lightning,” Reem said.

The odds of being struck by lightning are less than 1 in 1 million.

Reem says Yassin’s survival brings a new appreciation for her younger brother.

“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 said.

But even lightning can’t strike down the brother-sister dynamic.

“I’m kind of mad, though, because his curls stayed intact and mine don’t, and I haven’t been electrocuted,” Reem said.

The family hopes Yassin can leave the hospital this weekend.

New York, June 19, 2025 – In a rare and harrowing turn of events, 15-year-old Yassin Khalifa of New York City was struck by lightning while picnicking with friends in Central Park’s East Meadow. Now speaking publicly, he recounts the terrifying experience, saying he was left utterly immobilized and unable to speak immediately after the strike.

The Incident

On the afternoon of June 19, a sudden storm swept into Central Park. Khalifa and his friends decided to stay, with Khalifa leaning against a tree—later calling it a decision that, “in hindsight might not have been the best idea.” Just five seconds later, a bolt of lightning struck the tree, sending him to the ground unconscious
When Khalifa regained consciousness, he described feeling “locked in [his] body.” Though he could see what was happening, he couldn’t move or speak until the ambulance arrived and his friends shook him awake

Injuries and Hospitalization

Khalifa sustained second-degree burns to his neck and legs, and medical personnel transported him to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. By the time he arrived, he was alert and stable

Remarkably, the lightning didn’t cause nerve damage—experts credit this to his spine being directly against the tree, which may have buffered the impact. “Apparently, I’m pretty lucky … I’m not losing any sort of motor function,” Khalifa said AP Perspectives from Friends and Family

Witnesses say the scene was deeply distressing. One friend, Crystal Mateo, 17, recalled watching Khalifa’s friends calling for help frantically. “It was scary,” she said, “I was crying”

His sister, Reem Khalifa, shared the family’s emotional ordeal. “He was in pretty bad shape at first and in a lot of pain. I was so scared to lose him because it was looking very, very bad,” Reem recounted

Even amidst the trauma, sibling humor found a way in. Reem joked about his curls surviving the strike: “I’m kind of mad… his curls stayed intact and mine don’t, and I haven’t been electrocuted” CBS News.

Outlook and Safety Reminder

Health officials have confirmed Khalifa is expected to fully recover, with no long-term damage anticipated AP NewsPeople.com.

However, the incident serves as a sobering reminder of the dangers of hiding under trees during thunderstorms. According to the National Weather Service, standing beneath a tree is the second leading cause of lightning-related deaths CBS NewsThe Independent.

Statistics underline the rarity of such events. In the U.S., lightning strikes are experienced by fewer than one in a million individuals, with only about 30 fatalities per year, and a survival rate of around 90% for those