Freak badminton accident kills 6-year-old NJ girl on vacation

UPDATE: Prayers, funds roll in for family

A 6-year-old girl from Sussex County has died following a shocking accident during a family vacation in Maine.

Tragedy struck on Saturday as the Morgan family was enjoying the last full day of their lakeside trip, according to the girl's father, Jesse Morgan.

"We were eating a quick lunch by the lake and the kids decided to try badminton in the front yard," Morgan wrote in a blog post. "Bethany (Lucy's mother) and I were relaxing in the back when we heard screaming."

According to Morgan, while Lucy "was sitting on the sideline," a racquet broke on a downward swing by one of her siblings and a sharp piece from the racquet lodged into Lucy's skull.

Police in Limerick, Maine say the aluminum shaft of the racquet became dislodged from the wooden handle.

"She was still breathing but unresponsive as I held her with Bethany crying out to God," Morgan's blog says.

Morgan, a pastor at a church in Rockaway Township, was keeping the public updated in a series of posts on his New Creation Living page.

The updates stopped after Lucy passed away at around 4 a.m. on Wednesday in a Maine hospital.

The family was "praying for a miracle," Morgan's blog said, but the prognosis was grim from the start.

The Morgan family is from the Stockholm section of Hardyston Township.

According to a GoFundMe online campaign, a funeral for Lucy is scheduled for June 15. It will stream live at this link.

The GoFundMe campaign, which was launched before Lucy passed away, has raised more than $88,000 as of Friday afternoon.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom