Piece of Floor Impales Youth Basketball Player

A 14-year-old Wisconsin girl was hospitalized after a plank of wood on a basketball court impaled her as she dove on the floor during a game.

The incident took place last Sunday at a tournament in Middleton, Wis. The girl slid headfirst on the floor, then stopped abruptly, Madison, Wis., station WISC-TV News 3 reported. She told a referee she could not get up off the floor.

“And the official said, ‘What do you mean? Are you hurt?’” tournament director Perry Hibner told the TV station. “And she said, ‘There’s a piece of wood stuck to me.’”

Hibner said the piece of wood was about 3 to 4 inches long and broke in the middle, causing splinters to push into the girl’s stomach region. The girl did not sustain injuries to any of her vital organs and was released from the hospital after a one-night stay, the TV station reported. She was expected to resume playing again this week.

The rest of the tournament games Sunday were completed on other courts of the fieldhouse.

The broken piece of the court, which is 15 years old, will likely be permanently fixed this week, according to the report.