THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994 TAG: 9406150464
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940615 LENGTH: CHESAPEAKE
Dr. Hae K. Koh, 50, was listed in critical condition at Chesapeake General Hospital. Family members said she had not regained consciousness Tuesday evening.
{REST} Mark C. Rheins, 38, a vice president of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, was listed in critical but stable condition Tuesday evening at Sentara Norfolk, with burns on his abdomen, thigh and left leg, said Deborah A. Myers, a Sentara Health System spokeswoman.
The lightning struck about 3:15 p.m. on the fairway of the third hole during the annual Sentara tournament for hospital medical staff members. Rheins and Koh were the only two members of their foursome who were struck.
Witnesses said there was little warning.
``It was almost like a bomb hit,'' said Dr. Jonathan Miller, who was playing in the foursome immediately behind Rheins and Koh. Before the lightning strike, only slight rumbles of thunder were heard from a sky that did not look ominous, Miller said.
``I saw the lightning come down to the ground,'' said Miller, a Norfolk internist. He described the lighting bolt as so powerful that it shook members of his foursome more than 100 yards away. ``The lighting bolt and sound came right together.''
Miller said two members of his group hit the ground when the lightning struck, and all four had decided to head for the clubhouse when they heard calls for help from about 180 yards ahead.
Miller said he ran along the fairway and found Koh and Rheins lying on the fairway about 20 feet apart. Both were being administered CPR, he said.
While others attended Rheins, Miller and another member of his party helped Koh. Miller said Koh was breathing but motionless.
``We put this lady's legs up on golf bags,'' Miller said. ``I stayed with her until the rescue squad arrived. It seemed like forever, to be honest with you. She moaned, but was not very aware.''
Miller said Koh had burns on several parts of her body and a burn mark near her lip.
``I believe the lightning hit the ground and came up through her shoes and into her head,'' he said. ``It ripped off her visor cap.''
Rheins was airlifted by helicopter ambulance to Sentara Norfolk; Koh was taken by ambulance to Chesapeake General.
The Greenbrier Country Club, on Volvo Parkway, has hosted the Sentara tournament the past two years. About 150 people participated in this year's tourney, which included a tennis competition. Club pro Scott Oswald would not comment.
Rheins, who lives in the 4900 block of Preakness Way in Virginia Beach, has been with Sentara since 1989, Myers said. He was an administrator at Sentara Bayside until May, when he was transferred to Norfolk, she said.
Koh lives in the 5400 block of Club Head Road in Virginia Beach. She is a private physician who serves on Sentara Bayside Hospital's board of directors.
{KEYWORDS} LIGHTNING INJURIES GOLF COURSE
by CNB