Thursday, May 24, 2012

Woman riding motorbike has several teeth knocked out by errant golf ball

A Chapel Hill woman was injured by a flying golf ball while riding her motorcycle Saturday afternoon in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Susan Westerfield, 53, and her boyfriend, 52-year-old Paul Ballard, were traveling on motorcycles on South Church Street when a golf ball shot from a nearby golf course struck Westerfield in the face.

Westerfield was able to keep from crashing even though the golf ball knocked out several of her teeth and sliced her lip. Westerfield was wearing a helmet but it did not have a protective face guard. She was taken to nearby Middle Tennessee Medical Center where she was treated and released.



Westerfield said her boyfriend looked over, saw blood and thought she had been shot. She said she felt her teeth get pushed backwards. She says she now has nerve damage and can't feel the pain. The golfer who hit the ball told police he was teeing off at Hole 14 at Indian Hills Golf Club when his ball cut left toward the road. He didn't see the ball hit Westerfield but heard screams and ran to her location.

"They have trees on the left hand side there and most of the time a golf ball doesn't go left, it tends to go right. It's such a freak accident," golfer Tom Bakersaid. The club's general manager said golf balls sometimes hit cars in the area but he can't recall anyone being injured by a flying golf ball before. No charges were filed.

With news video.