6-year-old New Jersey girl dies after being pierced by broken badminton racket in 'freak accident'

NEW JERSEY -- A 6-year-old girl from New Jersey died after being pierced by a badminton racket while playing with her brother while on vacation in Maine, police said.

The local fire department and EMS responded to a residence in Limerick on June 1 around noon for an injured child.

Investigators said that 6-year-old Lucy Morgan was injured when an aluminum shaft of a badminton racquet dislodged from the wooden handle and struck her in the head.

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.

She died from her injuries four days later.

"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."

A GoFundMe page has raised more than $123,000.