Golf: California man dies after falling from golf cart
Gregory Lypps, a Fallbrook man who fell from a golf cart at Pala Mesa Golf Resort, died on Wednesday, authorities said.
The 41-year-old golfer was standing at the back of a golf cart on Tuesday during a fundraiser for Fallbrook High School’s varsity baseball team when he lost his balance and tripped. Lypps fell and hit his head on the cement which gave him severe head injuries.
He was then taken to the Palomar Medical Centre where the doctors pronounced him clinically dead on Tuesday. But they kept him on life support until Wednesday to harvest his organs for donation.
According to the spokesperson from the Palomar Medical Centre, the injured man died at 2.45 pm on Tuesday. The news of his death was also confirmed by John Buchanan, spokesperson for North County Fire Protection District. It was the fire fighter squad, which
rushed Lypps to the hospital when he lost consciousness after the accident.
According to Lypps’ family members, the deceased was involved in a lot of charity work. He believed in contributing to the society and this is exactly what he was doing during the fundraiser.
Will Picquelle, a family friend of the deceased told the press, “He was always a giver. He went out doing what he did, just supporting the community, and helping out. This is what he was doing on Tuesday. He graduated from Fallbrook High and wanted to contribute
to the institution.”
Lypps ran a stone-cutting and manufacturing business in Fallbrook. He has left four kids and a wife behind. A memorial service is scheduled on Sunday at Rolling Hills Estates Clubhouse for the deceased.
Lypps died, but he was not the first person to fall from a golf cart due to negligence.
In 2007, a 65-year-old golfer Edwin Payne died in a similar accident when he lost control over the golf cart during a round. The cart plunged into a ridge, throwing Edwin on the highway, which proved lethal.
It is quite apparent that the accident took place due to the negligence of the golf course management. The staff should post safety rules in each golf cart so that the golfers would know the precautionary measures.
Jay Lee, the general manager of the Pala Mesa Resort, clearly denied any responsibility. He said that the staff working on the course had rules posted on all the carts and had marshals roaming on the course to make sure that the golfers followed the measures.
Nearly 150,000 people were treated in emergency rooms for golf cart-related injuries from 1990 to 2006, according to a July 2008 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, highlighting a 130 per cent increase during the 17-year study.
It has been observed that the golfers make unnecessary use of the facility they are offered. After looking at various cases of accidents, it seems that all these victims misused the facility of transportation on the course.
Golf carts are merely used for travelling the long yards of golf clubs, which means that they should not be misused in any other way. Golfers should avoid jumbling up on a single cart to avoid the trouble.
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