Lightning strike injures 3 at Rockland County park
NEW CITY, N.Y. -- A lightning strike injured three people in Rockland County Wednesday.
It happened at High Tor State Park around 5 p.m.
Family members of the victims told CBS New York they were having a picnic in the park when a fast-moving storm came through.
A friend said they all ran to their vehicles for cover, except for a man and a woman who stayed behind to try to hold their tent up, but the wind was so strong, the tent started flying away. Another man who was in a car with his wife and daughter then ran outside to help.
Witnesses said the lightning was loud, and they could see it hit the tent, as well as a number of nearby trees, stripping the bark.
Family members said although the three victims had burn marks on their hands and arms, they were responsive and talking when emergency responders arrived.
"They all said that they froze, like couldn't move their hands off the tent. They were just like stuck," witness Katherine Recio said. "One of them fell to the floor when it happened, and so the EMT said it would be better to go went to the hospital to get tests done, just to rule out anything that might happen to them."
The victims were taken to Montefiore Nyack and are expected to make a full recovery.
This happened as severe thunderstorms moved through the region Wednesday afternoon, taking down trees in parts of Rockland and Westchester counties.