A Utah family is mourning the death of a six-year-old girl after she was hit by a golf ball Monday.
The golf ball was hit by her father and struck the little girl in the back of the neck while she was sitting in the golf cart on the cart path, according to a report published Tuesday by local news KSL.
HORRIBLE ACCIDENT: A 6-year-old girl was killed when her father accidentally hit her with a golf ball on a Utah golf course, authorities said. https://t.co/myQvdhD8F2
— News4JAX (@wjxt4) July 17, 2019
The girl was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and later flown to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. She passed away from her injuries later that night.
Orem Police Lt. Trent Colledge claimed the golf cart was not directly in front of the father when the ball struck the little girl. (RELATED: 3-Year-Old Girl Shot And Killed In Road Rage Incident)
The father daughter duo went golfing all the time, according to the girl’s uncle, David Smith.
“She loved doing it and had a good time with it all,” Smith said. “That was one of their things that they would do together. It was something that was really important to them and something they did all the time.”
Utah family mourns 6-year-old girl’s death in ‘fluke accident’ at golf course https://t.co/8GL93QSBPc
— Heidi Hatch (@tvheidihatch) July 17, 2019
People have occasionally been hit with golf balls at the Orem golf course, but head of the course Steven Marrett claimed he had never heard of anyone dying from a hit.
“This is absolutely unimaginable, and it’s been devastating to see it at the course and in the community,” Marett said.