6-year-old girl dies in bizarre badminton accident in Maine

PORTLAND, Maine (WJW) — A little girl has died in a tragic accident during a family vacation in Maine.

Six-year-old Lucy Morgan of New Jersey was outside watching her siblings play badminton when a piece of metal broke off her 10-year-old brother’s racket and struck her in the skull, according to a Maine State Police news release obtained by People.

“We were eating a quick lunch by the lake and the kids decided to play badminton in the front yard,” the girl’s father, Jesse Morgan, a pastor, wrote on his blog. “(My wife) Bethany and I were just relaxing in the back when we heard screaming.”

What they found in the yard was an unconscious child. But it was still breathing.

“I held her in my arms and Bethany cried out to God,” Jesse said on his blog New Creation Living.

The “freak accident” happened earlier this month. She was rushed from her home in Limerick to the hospital in Portland, Maine. Jesse said Lucy underwent emergency surgery to relieve the pressure in her head.

She reportedly died just four days later.

“She had a very vibrant personality, but she was also reserved at times,” Jesse told FOX News Digital. “Once you got to know her, she was very, very open and very funny. She was a tough kid and played football very hard.”

During the family vacation, the six-year-old told her parents that it had been the “best week of her life.”