Man dies after lightning strike in NY park; 4 others injured

Police said the five victims were reportedly sitting on a park bench near a tree at Mansion Square Park in Poughkeepsie, located about 80 miles south of Albany, when a severe lightning storm passed through the area at about 4 p.m.

Five people have been hospitalized after a powerful thunderstorm struck a Poughkeepsie park Friday, according to city officials.

The names of the people involved have not yet been released.

The victims were struck on the north side of the park, the police said.

Two 46-year-old men are believed to still be in intensive care at the Vassar hospital with burns and internal injuries. Two people were conscious but hurt.

Two others injured in the strike were taken to Mid-Hudson Regional Medical Center.

The charge from the lightning conducted through the ground and struck them, he said.

But such deaths, overall, are rare.

The National Weather Service estimates the odds of any one person being struck by lightning in a given year at 1 in 1.2 million. Florida has seen more lightning fatalities – six – than any other state this year.