A young girl is fighting for her life after taking part in a super dangerous trend.
Last Wednesday in Utah, Ava Broadhead was supposed to be attending her homecoming parade as a Sophomore at Cyprus High School. The City of Magna ended up canceling the event due to “bad air quality”, according to the 15-year-old’s mom Kandis George, who told local outlet KSTU:
“These kids were all ready to go out and have a good time.”
Sadly, this free time after school led to tragedy for Ava and her group of friends…
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Around 9 p.m. on September 11, as reported by multiple outlets, the teen and her pals decided to attempt the dangerous “car surfing” trend — in which a person stands on top of a car and tries to balance as someone else drives. Yes, that oh so dangerous thing from the ’80s is back, with all new deadly consequences for a whole new generation…
Ava lost her balance and fell off the top of the car during her attempt, hitting her head on the pavement — hard. She suffered an “extreme brain injury,” requiring emergency surgery, her mother revealed — and came damn close to dying right there on the operating table:
“She had an extreme brain injury and she needed to be rushed into brain surgery and it was a life-or-death surgery.”
So scary!
Currently, the teen is in a medically induced coma at Primary Children’s Hospital — but miraculously she’s “stable” and healing:
“She is in a medical induced coma, just staying stable, letting her brain rest.”
She may have lived, but that doesn’t mean she’s out of the woods. This kind of brain injury doesn’t heal quickly, and maybe never completely.
The family set up a GoFundMe to cover Ava’s medical expenses, and her aunt Shyleen Bayles wrote on behalf of the family:
“Ava was involved in a serious accident while attempting ‘car surfing,’ a dangerous trend that has unfortunately become popular among teenagers. She was thrown from the car, suffering severe brain trauma. What was meant to be a moment of fun has now left Ava in a hospital gown, with half her head shaved, fighting to recover.”
She also explained how different the girl’s life is going to be from now on — and just how severe the damage to her brain really was:
“Before this accident, Ava was looking forward to performing with her dance team at the homecoming football game and attending the homecoming dance in a beautiful white dress she had just picked out. Now, instead of those joyful experiences, she faces a long road to recovery, where she will need to relearn basic skills like walking, talking, and even simple tasks like tying her shoes.”
What a sobering statement… If you’d like to donate to the fund, you can click HERE.
Ava’s mom went on to speak to another outlet, KSL-TV, where she blamed the whole incident on peer pressure:
“That’s what happens to all teens, they fall into peer pressure. They know that’s not smart!”
Kandis is now using her daughter’s story to spread awareness about peer pressure and hopes Ava’s condition will serve as a warning:
“[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.”
You can also see more info on the accident and the dangers of car surfing (below):
Such a scary situation. We hope Ava is able to make a full recovery, but this is a seriously eye-opening warning on how dangerous these “fun” viral trends can be.
Thoughts, Perezcious readers?
[Image via Kandis George/Ava Broadhead/Facebook]
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