Man reportedly dies after lightning strike

A West Palm Beach man reportedly has died after being struck by lightning Thursday at the Spring Lake Golf Resort.

Beth Spikes, general manager at Spring Lake, said Alain Hyppolite, a resident of the West Palm Beach area, was at the resort with others for a weekend golf outing. She thinks he was in his 30s.

About 10 minutes after 4 Thursday afternoon, dispatchers received a call that Hyppolite had been struck by lightning on the 18th hole. Spikes said the accident happened suddenly, as it had not been raining or storming.

"Just out of the blue, a bolt of lightning hit a tree and then it ran through the ground to his golf club," she said.

A man golfing on a nearby hole and a kitchen manager started performing CPR while waiting for EMS to arrive, according to Spikes. Three ambulances and paramedics came to offer aid to the injured golfer.

After EMS arrived, the pulse was lost, Spikes said. Paramedics continued performing CPR on Hyppolite as he was taken to Highlands Regional Medical Center.

Hyppolite was later airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where he remained in critical condition Friday afternoon but reports started filtering in that he had died. The hospital would not comment on his condition.

There was some confusion on the victim's first name. Spikes said he was registered as Alain, but hospital staff had him listed under a different name.

Lorida Fire Department Chief Swen Swenson said firefighters extinguished a small fire in the tree the lightning initially struck.