Syracuse, N.Y. -- A Syracuse University safety officer was thrown about four feet and knocked unconscious after his patrol car was struck by lightning on the university's South Campus late Sunday night, according to Chief of S.U. Public Safety Tony Callisto.

The officer has since regained consciousness and is recovering at Upstate University Hospital, Callisto said at 1:45 a.m.

Here's Callisto's account of what happened:

S.U. Department of Public Safety Officer Stanley Prue was getting out of his car during a lull in Sunday night's heavy rain when lightning struck at about 11:55 p.m. He had put his left foot out of the car on Skytop Road when he was shocked, knocked backwards on the road and landed adjacent to the back of the patrol car.

His fellow officer, S.U. public safety senior detective Ed Weber, was in the car and was stunned when the lightning struck. Weber was disoriented after hearing a loud bang and saw "instantly that his partner was gone," Callisto said.

But Weber quickly figured out what happened and called for help. Emergency responders were on scene in minutes. They took Prue, a veteran of S.U. public safety for 20 years, and Weber to Upstate University Hospital.

"Thankfully, they're able to talk and they're doing okay right now," Callisto said.