Two teenage girls are recovering in a North Carolina hospital after a terrifying golf cart accident that left their vehicle "obliterated." The crash, which occurred late Friday afternoon near Wake Forest, has prompted federal officials to issue an urgent safety warning for golf cart users across the country.
The collision happened around 4:50 p.m. on Stony Hill Road, where a golf cart carrying the two teens was hit by a minivan. According to CBS 17, the impact was so severe that emergency crews rushed both girls to Duke Hospital with traumatic injuries. The driver of the minivan, a man, was not hurt.
Blake Wright, chief of the Northern Wake Fire Department, confirmed at the scene that the teens were taken to the trauma center. A neighbor living nearby said she frequently sees young drivers pushing golf carts to their limits.
"A lot of times, they don't even stop at the stop signs in our subdivision," the woman told reporters. "There is a concern for the safety for those kids. And obviously, what happened here with this accident really does raise some concern."
She added that many young drivers floor the accelerator and pile on more passengers than the carts are designed to hold. "They've got the pedal to the metal, but they're young kids. Yeah, they're teenagers. Maybe some of them are even younger than that," she said. "And oftentimes they'll have kids piled on, you know, more than what should be allowed in a golf cart, given the number of seats that were there."
Safety Warning Issued
In response to the tragic crash, U.S. safety officials are reminding all golf cart operators to follow a strict set of rules. These include always using seatbelts when available, keeping all body parts inside the vehicle, and never starting to drive until every passenger is seated securely.
Other key guidelines: only operate the cart from the driver's seat, check the direction selector before accelerating, obey all traffic laws—whether on a golf course or a public road—and slow down well before turns. Drivers must also come to a complete stop before switching between forward and reverse, always look behind when backing up, and yield to pedestrians at all times.
Distracted driving is just as dangerous in a golf cart as in a car: no texting, no standing in a moving cart, and absolutely no driving under the influence. When parked, always engage the parking brake fully and remove the key.
Officials stress that state and local laws vary, so drivers should check regulations before taking a golf cart onto public streets. The warning comes just months after a car accident involving a prominent NFL coach shook the sports world, underscoring how quickly any vehicle incident can turn tragic.
Last year, a close friend of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway died in a golf cart accident. Safety advocates say that when basic precautions are ignored, even a leisurely ride can become deadly.
The Wake County Sheriff's Office is investigating Friday's crash. No charges have been filed yet, but the incident has already sparked conversations in the community about stricter enforcement of golf cart safety rules—especially for young drivers.
This latest tragedy echoes a beach safety warning issued after a former NCAA soccer star was found dead at age 26, as authorities continue to stress the importance of following safety guidelines in all recreational activities.
