Lightening kills 2 geniuses - I wish I had their brains

Necro

VIP Room Moderator

Associated Press
Jul. 21, 2003 06:30 AM


SALT LAKE CITY - A mother and father who made the mistake of taking shelter from a storm under a tree were killed instantly - right before their three youngsters' eyes.

Richard and Lisa Goff died Saturday evening when a thunderstorm with hail, hard rain and a barrage of lightning bolts hit the campground at Crystal Lake, about 60 miles east of Salt Lake City.

The children, 9-year-old Dakota and his sisters Makenzie, 5, and Megan, 18 months, "were basically incoherent" when rescuers arrived, Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds said. "They had just seen their parents killed. They were in shock."

The parents, both 34, were sitting on metal chairs when the bolt came down, the woman's sister, Lori Ostler, told KUTV-TV of Salt Lake City. The location is at the 10,000-foot level in the Uinta Mountains.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's tips for safety during lightning storms specifically warn against taking shelter under a tree, and tell people to avoid metal objects such as fences or tennis rackets.

For the children, who were hospitalized in good condition, the loss started to sink in Sunday.

"The little girl said several times that she wished her mother was there, but knew she couldn't be," said the family's clerical leader, Bishop Walter Ewell of the Westbrook First Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It wasn't clear which girl he was referring to.

"When her grandmother came, she cried and said she knew her mother would never be with her again."

Friends said Megan would cling to her mother and rarely went to anyone else. "It is going to be tough for them," Ewell said.

The children were expected to be released to their grandparents.

"I can deal with one, either of them. I can deal with that. But when both are taken, it's incredible," Ostler told KUTV. "How do you begin to keep this family intact? You tell the little boy who saw his parents get killed that they won't be back, they're gone."

Rick Goff worked in an auto body shop and his wife was a homemaker. Friends said the family loved boating, fishing, camping, hiking and water skiing.

"If it was an outdoorsy thing, they did it. They loved riding four-wheelers, snowmobiling, just essentially all the outdoor sports," said Eric Hansen, a friend.

With their deaths, 66 people have died in Utah from lightning in the past 52 years, and 130 have been injured. More than half of incidents have happened in July and August.



I know if I got caught in the middle of a thunderstorm, a tree would be the first place I'd run for cover. And while I'm at it, I'll sit down in a nice metal chair and have myself a couple of hotdogs and a few beers. ####ING IDIOTS!