published: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Golfer struck by lighting on SpringLake course died Monday

By TREY CHRISTY

trey.christy@newssun.com

SEBRING -- A man who was struck by lightning Thursday afternoon at the Spring Lake Golf Resort off of U.S. 98 has died, the resort's general manager said.

Beth Spikes said he was part of a large group of golfers from the West Palm Beach area who come to the resort annually around this time of year.

"There was a little bit of confusion," she said about earlier reports out of Highlands County that the man had died. "They kept him on life support and at 5 a.m. this morning (Monday) they officially pronounced his death."

Alain Hyppolite, a man in his early to mid-30s, was on the 16th hole of the golf course when, with no warning, he was struck by lightning, Spikes said.

"As far as reports from witnesses to me, he was standing near a tree leaning on his golf club," she said. "The lightning struck a tree, hit the ground, and came up through his club."

Hyppolite was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital Friday before 8 a.m., said Steve Coltharp, director of Highlands County Emergency Medical Services.

He was kept in Highlands County overnight due to inclement weather and his unstable condition, Coltharp said.

Spikes said the golfers were surprised by the lightning because skies appeared to be clear.

"It had drizzled a little bit of rain prior to that," she said. "There were no threatening skies or storms in the area. It was just a freak bolt of lightning. The golfers, everybody out there, couldn't believe it."

As far as she knew, Hyppolite was unmarried and didn't have a family. Spikes said he was an organ donor and that might have been why he was kept on life support over the weekend.

Online queries for his name resulted in finding a man who worked in Information Technology for the Professional Golfers Association, but whether it was the same man could not be confirmed. The name was an identical match, including the uncommon spelling of the first name.

This is the first time someone at the resort has died after being struck by lightning, Spikes said.

"I understand there might have been close calls in years past," she said, "but nobody that was hospitalized."