Friday, February 23, 2001
Friday, February 23, 2001 |
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Golf cart accident lends credence to call for seatbelts on carts, helmets for children
By JOHN
MUNFORD Even a seatbelt couldn't keep 2-year-old Karissa McFadden from falling off the family golf cart and taking a solid bump on the head. While on a family joy ride with brother Collin and father Stephen Monday afternoon, Karissa somehow slipped out of the seatbelt and fell onto the pavement on Loring Lane. She bled a lot, Stephen remembered, but she never lost consciousness. Karissa stayed at the hospital overnight after getting three stitches on her head and eight on her ear. The doctors determined she suffered a concussion also. By yesterday morning, she was almost back to normal at home, begging Daddy to color with her at the kitchen table. The accident, however, was an ordeal her parents especially her mother will never forget. "I think they will be wearing helmets on the golf cart from now on," said Tammy McFadden. The incident came several days after a local resident asked the city council to require seatbelts on all golf carts and all children riding carts to wear helmets. Bill Aleshire said carts currently manufactured don't have connections to hook up child safety seats. Many parents will drive with their young children in their lap, leaving the possibility that the child's head could strike the steering wheel in an accident, he said. Council postponed a decision so Fire Chief Stony Lohr could research how often serious accidents are reported on golf carts in Peachtree City. Wednesday morning, Lohr said none of the 10 golf cart accidents reported all of last year were serious in nature. Lohr recalled several other serious accidents on golf carts that have been reported over the years, however (see related story). City Attorney Rick Lindsey told council that if the city enacts a seatbelt requirement in the carts, the city could be held liable if someone is injured in an accident where the injury could have been prevented by jumping from the cart, such as a rollover. Aleshire suggested the city contact golf cart manufacturers to determine what safety restraints can be installed in carts. Councilwoman Annie McMenamin suggested that help could also be obtained by the SAFE KIDS coalition in Fayette County. The McFaddens had paid extra when they bought the cart to have the seatbelts installed, she explained, but they now know even seatbelts aren't an iron-clad guarantee to protect children from falling off a cart and getting hurt. Stephen McFadden remembered praying with Collin before the ambulance came. The paramedics were great, and so was the staff at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta hospital, he said. But the McFaddens don't want a similar situation to happen to anyone else. Tammy was at home when her husband notified her about the accident, and she rushed to the scene, worried about her little girl. "That's a phone call you don't want to get," she said. "It's God's grace that she came out of it okay," Stephen said as he watched his little girl work magic with the crayons. "It could have been a lot worse than it was."
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