A three-year-old child driving a golf cart in Fort Myers, Florida, struck and killed a seven-year-old child Monday afternoon, CNN reports.
The three-year-old had allegedly been driving near a private home when the front of the golf cart struck the seven-year-old child in the front yard, CNN reported, citing Florida Highway Patrol (FHP). The injured child was transported to a nearby hospital, but medical efforts were unsuccessful and the young child was pronounced dead, according to the outlet. The three-year-old alleged driver was unharmed.
Florida 7-year-old killed by 3-year-old driving golf cart https://t.co/FWVOqyKmkx pic.twitter.com/OoSFf9UwA1
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) July 18, 2023
Over 6,500 children sustain injuries involving golf carts annually across the country, with slightly more than half of those injured below the age of 12, according to a 2021 Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) study cited by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). (RELATED: Heroic Man Drowns Saving Two Children From Creek)
“I think it’s important that we raise awareness of the severity and types of injuries that golf carts pose to children including pre-adolescents, so that greater prevention measures can be instituted in the future,” CHOP sports medicine director Dr. Theodore J. Ganley said, according to the AAP.
There have been several reported golf cart injuries involving children in 2023. In Indiana, a 15-year-old passenger reportedly fell off a golf cart while a 16-year-old was making a turn, resulting in a head injury. A 14-year-old passenger was ejected in a golf cart crash in Missouri, and two teenagers from Texas were hospitalized with serious injuries following an accident July 4, according to respective reports.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in June requiring golf cart drivers to have a permit or driver’s license in order to operate the small vehicles, WJFX reported. The bill goes into effect Oct. 1.