10-year-old boy grateful to survive being struck by lightning

The chances of being struck by lightning are roughly 1 in 700,000.

June 28, 2019, 4:12 PM

NEW YORK -- A 10-year-old boy struck by lightning last night said that he was grateful to survive after he was released from hospital Wednesday.

Neziah Ki-lusi was struck on the right side of his body in Kalihi, Hawaii, while seated with his parents in the back of a truck Wednesday evening.

PHOTO: A lightning bolt strikes in Hawaii in this stock photo.
STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images

"As we were on the side of L&L by Foodland over there, there was lightning that striked through my arm," Ki-Iusi told ABC News affiliate KITV4.

Ki-lusi's mother recalled with vivid clarity the exact moment the lightning struck.

"All I saw were shocks, lightning," Crystal Lusi told the news outlet. "The first thing that came out of my mouth was, 'my son!'"

Lightning bolts can reach 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit and contain up to a million electrical volts, according to National Geographic, and the chances of being struck by one in one year in the US is roughly 1 in 700,000.

While the chances of being struck by lightning are extremely slim, the boy was well aware of how lucky he was to walk out of hospital alive.

"I'm just really thankful that God has his healing hand upon me that I get to go home and that I still have the rest of my life to spend with my mom and dad and whole family and the world," Ki-Iusi told KITV4.