The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

All hurt by lightning out of hospital

- By Asia Simone Burns Asia.Burns@ajc.com and Alexis Stevens astevens@ajc.com

Five people who were injured during a lightning storm at the PGA Tour Championsh­ip on Saturday have been released from the hospital, officials said in a statement. A sixth person was treated and released at the scene.

The injured people were caught in an afternoon lightning storm at the East Lake Golf Club, which is hosting the Tour Championsh­ip, AJC. com previously reported. Four men and a juvenile were seeking shelter near a pine tree behind the green on No. 15 near the Fanzone, according to Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos.

A bolt of lightning hit the tree, and all five people were hurt.

Firefighte­rs and police from both Atlanta and DeKalb responded to the golf course. All of those injured were alert while being taken to local hospitals for treatment, Campos said. They were released Saturday night, authoritie­s said. Atlanta police identified the six people hurt in the incident as Ryan Murphy, 19, Sunny Kim, 39, Lindsay Wood, 12, Rex Wood, 13, David Wood, 53, and William Kramer, 46.

In a statement Sunday, PGA officials said the safety and well-being of fans and players is the highest priority, “and we were with those being treated until they were released from area hospitals.”

“We are deeply grateful that the injuries were not more serious, and we’re proud of the collective efforts of the on-site team to quickly care for our fans during this frightenin­g incident,” officials said.

Authoritie­s assessed the pine tree that was struck by lightning and determined it to be safe, PGA officials said. The organizati­on also replaced several pieces of ShotLink equipment that were damaged by the lightning, officials said.

The incident caused the third round of the Tour Championsh­ip to be suspended Saturday. Play resumed at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States