Over $30k Raised For Victims Of Fatal Golf Cart Accident

Two GoFundMe pages set up to help the families of victims in a fatal North Carolina golf cart crash have raised thousands

An image of one of the GoFundMe pages
(Image credit: GoFundMe)

Following the tragic news that two people had died in a golf cart accident in Statesville, North Carolina, leaving four others critically injured, two GoFundMe pages have been set up to help support the family of the victims, with around $34,000 raised in just 24 hours.

The incident, which occurred on Monday night, involved an intoxicated Honda Accord driver, whose car collided head-on with a golf cart carrying six family members near Statesville, North Carolina. The driver of the cart, 39-year-old Michael Shane Marlowe, died at the scene along with his five-year-old son, Bentley. Four other family members who were passengers on the cart were critically injured, including the driver’s daughter, Jada. 

One of the GoFundMe pages was set up by family friend Amber Boutot to help raise funds towards “medical bills, services expenses, and anything else the family might need in this time”. It has raised almost $18,000 at the time of writing. The other page, titled Jada’s Journey, explains the extent of her injuries. There have been over $16,000 in donations to the page so far. 

The injured – who are aged between two and 26 – were transported by helicopters to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem and Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

The driver of the car, 23-year-old Austin Ray Harmon of Statesville, was uninjured. He was arrested and charged with driving while impaired, two counts of felony death by vehicle, and three counts of felony serious injury by vehicle.

Mike Hall
Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 


He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 


Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 


Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.