THUNDER BAY — The City of Thunder Bay has provided its first official response to an incident that saw a child injured by a golf ball at Chapples Golf Course.
Corey Halvorsen, manager of parks and open spaces, said "We're committed to community safety. We're going to be reviewing this specific situation to determine what potential safety measures should be explored."
Eight-year-old Jude O'Brien-Harris suffered a painful blow to the chest and was knocked to the ground while riding his bike on the recreation trail in Chapples Park on Monday afternoon.
"I couldn't breathe, and it really, really hurt," the boy recalled in an interview Wednesday while his father stood by his side.
The wayward golf ball came from the 10th hole while the child was enjoying an outing with his mother and two younger siblings nearby.
"I heard he got hurt, and didn't know how bad it was," his dad Jesse Harris said. "Like, did he get hit in the head or the heart?...Luckily it was just a couple inches away from his heart. I don't want this to happen ever again, to anyone."
Halvorsen said the city's investigation is still in the early stages, and that no specific remedies have been discussed yet in relation to this particular incident.
But he noted "You can see that in other locations on the golf courses, we have installed some netting, so that will be one of the considerations, for sure."
O'Brien said "I think there are blind spots" near some fairways at Chapples. "I think it's a little close to where the people are walking, biking, running, and it's actually really concerning, and there's trees, so you can't really see what's happening.. I'm sure someone would have a good idea of what can be done, but something does need to be done."
