New York, New York - A teenage student was struck by lightning on Thursday when a nasty storm struck New York City, but the boy has miraculously survived the incident.

15-year-old Yassin Khalifa has now told Eyewitness News how the dramatic moments shortly before the impact unfolded.

He and a friend were out for a picnic in Central Park when suddenly dark storm clouds rolled in.

Yassin said he leaned against a tree to protect himself from the rain, which he admits "might not have been the best idea"

Just a few minutes later, lightning struck the tree, and the teen was also hit and lost consciousness for several minutes.

When he regained consciousness, he was already in an ambulance.

Yassin was treated quickly and fortunately escaped with second-degree burns to his neck and leg, but not further injuries.

He's aware that it could have been much worse, telling the news outlet, "I'm pretty lucky, because my spine was directly against the tree and no nerve damage happened."

"So I'm like, not losing any sort of motor function. So I'm pretty happy about that," he added.