A family has been rocked after their teenage daughter became injured in an incident that was the result of teenage fun gone horribly wrong. After their daughter and her friends were unable to attend their high school’s Homecoming festivities, the teens decided to go car surfing, which ended in tragedy.
Now, the mom is speaking out about the kind of trauma such an activity can cause as her daughter remains hospitalized and fighting for her life. It certainly isn’t something to take lightly.
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The incident happened on Wednesday, September 11.
Ava Broadhead, a sophomore at Cyprus High School in Magna, Utah, was out with friends. Around 9 p.m., Broadhead was said to have been riding on top of a car when she fell off, hitting her head against the pavement, Unified Police Department Sergeant Aymee Race told local news outlets including KSL-TV and KSTU.
“Unfortunately, pavement isn’t as forgiving,” KSTU reported Race saying
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What even is car surfing?
“That can be anywhere from kids hanging on the tops of cars to the back of cars standing up through their windows and then going either at so rates of speed or high rates of speed on these vehicles,” Race explained of the activity. She claims that it’s a “trend” that’s picked up significantly.
“Unfortunately, with social media, there’s ebbs and flows to these types of trends and right now this trend has been picking up, I mean, it stems from the eighties and movies to 10 years ago, this was a significant trend and now here we are again with this trend picking up,” she said.
The kids originally had different plans for the evening.
Kandis George, Broadhead’s mom, explained to KSTU that Broadhead was supposed to be walking in her school’s homecoming parade that night.
“The parade was canceled because of the bad air quality and so these kids were all ready to go out and have a good time,” she explained.
“I’m sure it was, ‘Hey! We should do this, it would be fun,’ and not thinking, ‘Oh wait, what if I flung off this car. All these things are going to stop in my life because in the moment that seems fun,'” she told KSL-TV. “That’s what happens to all teens, they fall into peer pressure,” she said. “They know that’s not smart!”
Broadhead is now in critical condition.
George recalled getting a call from Broadhead’s friends saying that she was being rushed to the hospital, and then found out that her daughter had an “extreme brain injury and she needed to be rushed into brain surgery and it was a life-or-death surgery.”
“She is in a medical induced coma, just staying stable, letting her brain rest,” she explained.
George also explained that it could take “months if not years” for Broadhead to recover from her brain injury, and that she will have to “relearn basic skills like walking, talking, and even simple tasks like tying her shoes.” A GoFundMe has been started for the family to pay for Broadhead’s medical expenses and recovery.
The teen's mom is speaking out about the incident.
“I want to bring awareness because my bright, vibrant girl is fighting for her life,” George said. She is using social media as a way to share the dangers of car surfing with people who may not even know what it is.
“I posted her story on social media and I’ve gotten thousands of inbox messages on Instagram and Facebook,” she shared. “A lot of just, thank you for sharing your story, I didn’t know this was a thing. (Teens need to know) It’s not always cool to do those things, and it’s okay to say no to something dangerous like car surfing,” she added.
