According to police, two men were struck while playing soccer in a field near the Queens Zoo in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
A 30-year-old man suffered burns and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The other man, age 42, was listed in serious but stable condition.
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"Thunder just went boom! And I felt it," said Andrew Graneros, a witness to the lightning strike. "I stopped everything I was doing. As you turn around, you just see two guys laying on the floor and see a guy running towards us, 'Call the police! Call the police!'"
A third man was struck by lightning about four miles away at the corner of Baisley Boulevard and 155th Street in Jamaica. The 33-year-old victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The strikes occurred as a line of strong storms moved through the New York City area.
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Heavy rain came down quickly during the storm, leaving some flash flooding in Rego Park where water rushed up onto the sidewalk.
More showers and thunderstorms are expected Wednesday.
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