The Bergen Record reports that the Haworth man was outside Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest on Friday afternoon when the storm struck suddenly.
Demarest police Chief James Powderley III tells the newspaper that the man was surrounded by fallen branches from a tree that had its bark stripped by lightning and appeared to have been struck by the lightning.
The man was pronounced dead at a hospital on Friday night. His name hasn't been released yet.
Powderley tells the newspaper that nine students complained of "tingling sensations" after the strike and were taken to hospitals.
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Information from: The Record (Woodland Park, N.J.)