Softball Practice Ground Ball Kills Girl

(AP)  A 12-year-old softball player was knocked unconscious when a ball hit her in the head during practice, and she died a day later, police and family said.

Margaret Ruth "Maggie" Hilbrands was hit by a ground ball during a routine infield drill on Monday — a day after the death of a minor-league baseball coach who was struck by a line drive in Arkansas. The Grand Rapids girl died Tuesday at DeVos Children's Hospital.

"She missed the ball. It appears it hit her in the wrong spot. She never regained consciousness," her mother, Jan Hilbrands, told The Grand Rapids Press.

Maggie stopped breathing but her heart was beating after the ball hit her, Lowell Police Chief Jim Valentine told The Associated Press. He said coaches and others at the scene tried to revive her before she was taken to a hospital.

The Kent County medical examiner's office planned to conduct an autopsy Thursday.

Maggie had been set to enter the seventh grade this fall at Grand Rapids Christian Middle School. She had been practicing with teammates on the Lowell Xtreme traveling softball team.

"The team is having a real hard time," her mother said. "This was kind of Maggie's first experience with the traveling team, but she really enjoyed it."

On Sunday, Mike Coolbaugh, a 35-year-old coach for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers, died after being struck by a line drive as he stood in the first-base coach's box during a game in Arkansas.

On Tuesday, Pulaski County (Ark.) Coroner Mark Malcolm told the Tulsa World that Coolbaugh died from a loss of blood to the brain after the foul ball hit him on the left side of his neck, rupturing an artery.

Coolbaugh was given CPR on the field, but Malcolm said there was nothing medical personnel could have done to save him.

[iceman_1960]

"no one is to blame here NOT the parents NOT the teammate who hit the ball NOT the coaches... NOT the sport itself. Just a freak accident.
Get a life"
- Posted by sugarmice at 05:44 PM : Jul 26, 2007

I only mentioned counselling for the girl who hit the ball because I know the way kids' minds work. Even though this was not her fault by any stretch of the imagination, kids are prone to dwell on irrational and morbid ideas like that.

[iceman_1960]

"Ok , if it kills someone then we need to stop using it, get rid of it, outlaw it, write a fatwa against it right? B.S."
- Posted by ToolMangler at 09:02 PM : Jul 26, 2007

Of course that's B.S.

Incidents like this tragic accident are extremely rare -- like a golfer being struck by lightning. Should golfing be banned to prevent that ?

The much bigger danger to kids is acquiring lifetime habits of overeating and being sedentary, playing computer games to the exclusion of athletic ones.

"Obesity is a global public health problem. About 1.5 billion adults worldwide are overweight, including more than 400 million who are obese. Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese."

Source:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070726/ap_on_he_me/diet_contagious_fat_5

[toolmangler-2009]

Ok , if it kills someone then we need to stop using it, get rid of it, outlaw it, write a fatwa against it right? B.S. A neighbor boy of 8 years old catches his toe in the blanket as he got out of bed, Fell and died instantly of a broken neck. My question is this, in order to stop this from happening again do we get rid of the bed, the blanket, the floor or the kid?

[sugarmice-2009]

sorry posted 2x for some reason - wasn't meant to be

[sugarmice-2009]

mennowoman YES she was a tough girl
anyone who plays sports is tough to a point
Obviously YOU are living in a glass ball and have no room for sports in your life WHICH is sad because they teach you discipline and team effort....
I'm sad for the family BUT accidents happen and for you to make a comment like that is rude and disrespectful.
Kids need to be tough these days - physically and mentally and when parents shield them from the world because they are afraid that something might happen to them then the parents are the ones to blame. In this case, the parents allowed her to enjoy baseball which is a very very enjoyable sport and played by millions - no one is to blame here NOT the parents NOT the teammate who hit the ball NOT the coaches... NOT the sport itself. Just a freak accident.
Get a life

[sugarmice-2009]

mennowoman YES she was a tough girl
anyone who plays sports is tough to a point
Obviously YOU are living in a glass ball and have no room for sports in your life WHICH is sad because they teach you discipline and team effort....
I'm sad for the family BUT accidents happen and for you to make a comment like that is rude and disrespectful.
Kids need to be tough these days - physically and mentally and when parents shield them from the world because they are afraid that something might happen to them then the parents are the ones to blame. In this case, the parents allowed her to enjoy baseball which is a very very enjoyable sport and played by millions - no one is to blame here NOT the parents NOT the teammate who hit the ball NOT the coaches... NOT the sport itself. Just a freak accident.
Get a life

[iceman_1960]

"I suppose if you dress your kid up in a suit of armor before they leave the house in the morning they would be safer but are we going to do this?"

Sir Lancelot did that and he still got killed.

[griking]

It was a terrible accident people but thats exactly what it was, an accident. I suppose if you dress your kid up in a suit of armor before they leave the house in the morning they would be safer but are we going to do this? I'm ok with making helmets optional for kids if they want to wear them but I definitely wouldn't want to see them mandatory to play ball.

[iceman_1960]

What a tragic loss for her family and friends.

I certainly hope the girl who hit the ball received counselling. She must not blame herself.

This is a very isolated incident. Kids who are sedentary and overweight are actually at much greater longterm risk than active athletic kids.

[bananaamy]

GRAND RAPIDS -- An autopsy has been performed on a 12-year-old Grand Rapids girl who died a day after being hit in the head with a softball at practice.

Maggie Hilbrands played for the Lowell Xtreme traveling softball team, which was gearing up for a tournament this weekend. The incident happened Monday and she died Tuesday at a hospital.

Dr. David Start, a forensic pathologist with the Kent County medical examiner's office, said she died due to a vertebral artery laceration that caused a hemorrhage. The ball hit her head, which she jerked to the side, resulting in a tear of an artery. There was a loss of blood to the brain and a sudden drop of blood pressure, which almost always is fatal, according to Dr. Start.

Maggie had no congenital defects that contributed to her death. It was all due to the softball.