A beloved coach and mother of three is in a desperate fight for her life after a freak golf cart accident turned a dream vacation into a nightmare. Kerrie Olsen, 39, the owner and head coach of Skol CrossFit in Riverton, Utah, suffered catastrophic brain injuries when the golf cart she was riding in went airborne and crashed into a sand trap at a course in Mexico last month.
“We were just driving around talking and laughing and just reminiscing,” said Annie Stagg, Kerrie’s best friend who was with her at the time. “Next thing you know, we’re in hell.”
The accident left Olsen unresponsive. She was rushed to a Mexican ICU, where doctors performed emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma — a massive bleed that caused up to 16 millimeters of blood accumulation and a 7-millimeter shift of her brain to the left due to pressure. She remains in a medically induced coma.
A Race Against Time and Money
Now, her family is scrambling to bring her back to the United States for ongoing care. But the costs are staggering. The Mexican hospital demands payment upfront, in cash, and the daily tab runs into the tens of thousands of dollars. While the family has insurance, international claims take time to process, leaving them to cover everything out of pocket for now.
“Getting her home will require a critical care medevac flight with a full ICU team on board, and that alone is an enormous cost,” the family wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for Olsen’s treatment and transport.
Stagg described the helplessness of the situation: “It was a moment of enjoying life and enjoying each other to tragedy in a blink of an eye. It's a really hopeless feeling. I would do anything to get her home and to her family.”
‘She Is Everybody’s Sunshine’
Olsen is married to Paul Olsen, and together they have three children. Friends describe her as a radiant force in their lives. “Paul calls her ‘her sunshine’ and she is. She is everybody’s sunshine. She puts good in the world every single day, like every single day,” Stagg said.
The accident has renewed attention on the potential dangers of golf carts, which are often seen as harmless recreational vehicles. The U.S. has issued an urgent golf cart safety warning in the wake of this tragedy.
As the family navigates this nightmare, they are leaning on the support of their community. The GoFundMe page has already raised tens of thousands of dollars, but much more is needed. “It is a lot for any family, let alone one navigating the scariest days of their lives at the same time,” the page reads.
Our thoughts are with Kerrie, Paul, and their children as they fight for her recovery.
