Freak Badminton Accident Claims Life of 6-Year-Old New Jersey Girl on Family Vacation

Lucy Morgan died when the aluminum shaft of a badminton racket pierced her skull.

A New Jersey family's vacation turned tragic when a piece of a broken badminton racket pierced their 6-year-old daughter's skull, leading to her death.

Little Lucy Morgan died on Wednesday, four days after the freak accident during what was meant to be an idyllic lakeside trip in Maine.

The incident occurred on Saturday as the Morgan family of six enjoyed their last full day at a rental cottage in Limerick, Maine. Lucy's father, Jesse Morgan, a pastor at Green Pond Bible Chapel in Rockaway, recounted the event in a blog entry titled "Calamity Strikes."

“We were eating a quick lunch by the lake, and the kids decided to try badminton in the front yard. Bethany and I were relaxing in the back when we heard screaming,” Morgan wrote.

The Morgan family of New Jersey was enjoying their last day of a vacation in Maine when the tragedy occurred.

Due to a freak accident, the racket broke on a downward swing, and a sharp piece entered Lucy's skull while she was sitting on the sidelines, causing a catastrophic injury. According to Maine State Police, Lucy received the "unintentional injury from her 10-year-old brother."

The aluminum shaft of the racket had dislodged from its wooden handle, causing the shaft to strike Lucy in the head. Despite being rushed to a local hospital and then airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland, Lucy remained unresponsive.

Surgeons attempted to relieve the pressure on her brain by removing part of her skull, but Lucy flatlined during the procedure. Although doctors managed to revive her, Lucy had lost all brain function and could not breathe independently.

Doctors warned the family that Lucy had "a very slim chance" of recovery due to the deep penetration of the racket shaft and immediate arterial bleeds.

Lucy lost her brain function the day of the accident and died four days later.

Lucy succumbed to her injuries around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, one day later than doctors had predicted. Her father, Jesse Morgan, expressed his heartbreak over the loss. “Every time I looked into the rearview mirror, wishing I saw Lucy munching on some chicken nuggets after we stopped at Wendy’s and only ordered for 5,” he wrote about the 350-mile drive back to their New Jersey home without Lucy.

Lucy's siblings, Silas, 10, Shiloh, 8, and Atticus, 4, are struggling to comprehend the loss and are tragically blaming themselves. The brother who accidentally caused the fatal injury asked his grieving parents, "how we could ever be happy again," according to his father's blog. “We just sat on the front steps for a while crying until I finally mustered up the courage to open the door. We again collapsed in a pile on the kitchen floor crying harder as a family than we ever have,” Morgan wrote.

Lucy's funeral will be held on June 15 at her father's church.