6-year-old girl killed by badminton racket while on family vacation in Maine

A six-year-old girl died days after she was accidentally injured by a badminton racket while on vacation with her family in Maine, police said.

Lucy Morgan of Stockholm, New Jersey, was playing with her older brother outside a home in Limerick on June 1 when the incident occurred, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety.

“Investigators determined that the aluminum shaft of a badminton racket had come loose from the wooden handle, causing the shaft to strike the girl in the head and pierce her skull,” said a press release from the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Lucy was sitting courtside when the “freak accident” occurred, her father, Jesse Morgan, a pastor at Green Pond Bible Chapel in Newfoundland, New Jersey, said in a blog post after the incident. The bat broke on the downswing and the sharp piece caused a catastrophic brain injury, he said.

First responders took Lucy to a hospital in Sanford and then flew her by helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she died of her injuries Wednesday, police said.

“There is so much more to say, scriptures to unravel, people to thank, and tears to shed,” Jesse Morgan wrote on his blog, urging people to “hug their children more often.” “We never wanted this tremendous trial, but the stories of other children finding Christ, neighbors sharing the gospel, and shared grief help us continue to live in faith despite this deep pain.”

Lucy’s memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday and will be livestreamed on greenpondbible.org.

“Our hearts are broken,” said Ryan Boys, senior pastor of Green Pond Bible Chapel, in a letter to the congregation on Wednesday. “Today we are caught between two immutable truths. Lucy is experiencing indescribable joy with the Lord; we are experiencing unspeakable sadness and sorrow.”