Girl, 6, killed by badminton racket while vacationing with family in Maine

(NEW YORK) — A 6-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 learned that the aluminum shaft of a badminton racquet had become dislodged from the wooden handle, causing the shaft to strike the girl in the head, piercing through her skull,” the Maine Department of Public Safety said in a press release.

Lucy was sitting on the sideline 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 following the incident. The racket broke on a downward swing and the sharp piece caused a catastrophic brain injury, he said.

First responders brought Lucy to a hospital in Sanford before transporting her via helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she died from her injuries on Wednesday, police said.

“There is so much more to say, scripture to unravel, people to thank, and tears to be cried,” Jesse Morgan said on his blog, urging people to “hug your kids more.” “We never asked for this immense trial, but the reports of other children coming to Christ, about neighbors having gospel conversations, and grief being shared helps us continue to walk by faith in this profound pain.”

Lucy’s memorial service is scheduled to be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. and livestreamed at greenpondbible.org.

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