6-Year-Old Utah Girl Dies After Being Struck by Golf Ball Hit By Father

A 6-year-old Utah girl who often joined her father on the golf course was killed on Monday after she was struck in the neck by a ball her father hit, authorities said.

The girl, identified by KSL as Aria Hill, was reportedly sitting in a golf cart on the cart path at the Links at Sleepy Ridge, located in Orem, Utah when her father hit the fatal ball that struck her in the back of her neck just before 10:30 a.m. Monday morning. Aria was taken to a local hospital in critical condition before being flown by medical helicopter to a Salt Lake City hospital. She would later die from her injuries, Monday evening, Police Lt. Trent Colledge told the Associated Press.

Colledge said police are currently investigating the incident, but they do not plan to press charges because it appears to be a tragic accident.

The golf cart the 6-year-old was sitting in was not directly in front of her father as he swung, but around 45 to 90 degrees to his left, Colledge said. Aria would often go golfing with her father, her uncle, David Smith told KSL.

"She was his golfing buddy; she loved doing it and she would always be the one in the cart," said Smith. "That was something that was really important to them."

Smith set up a GoFundMe account for Aria to help with funeral and medical costs which has already raised more than 13,000 of its $25,000 goal.


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