A Starr’s Mill sophomore suffered a serious head injury Thursday, May 9, when the golf cart she was riding on wrecked in the Kedron Village area.
Janice Dominguez was riding on the rear of the cart when it careened off the path, according to her mother, Marlene Dominguez. Janice was flown by air ambulance to Atlanta Medical Center where she was admitted to the intensive care unit for treatment.
Marlene Dominguez said her daughter had to have a hole drilled into her brain to reduce swelling and also had to be put on a breathing machine and kept heavily sedated. On Monday, the swelling on Janice’s brain had improved significantly and doctors were working on weaning her off the breathing machine, her mother said.
Marlene Dominguez said she was able to visit the crash site and she assumed the golf cart was going full speed when the crash occurred, based on where the golf cart ended off the path.
She hopes other parents in the city will see this story on her daughter and remind their young drivers to be cautious when driving golf carts because of the potential danger.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Marlene Dominguez said of her daughter’s injuries, which included a fractured back. Janice has improved to the point where she is coherent enough to try and pull her tubes out, which is a good sign, but the doctors also want to keep from moving her legs at this point to prevent paralysis, Marlene Dominguez said.
The police report on the crash was not available by press time Tuesday afternoon.
The aftermath of the crash and her daughter’s medical treatment meant that Marlene Dominguez spent Mother’s Day in the hospital. While it was not what the single mother had planned, she was also grateful that her daughter was alive and on the road to recovery.
