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.
"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.
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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