Riverside Girl, 7, Fatally Injured by Lawn Dart Tossed by Children

A 7-year-old girl, speared in the head by a lawn dart that sailed over a fence, collapsed in front of her parents and died three days later, a coroner’s official said.

Michele Snow was fatally struck Sunday as her 9-year-old brother and two other children played with the foot-long dart, which is part of a lawn game, Deputy Riverside County Coroner R.M. Worthington said Thursday.

The girl ran to her parents, David and Linda Snow, and collapsed unconscious, Worthington said. She was taken to Riverside General Hospital, but never regained consciousness.

She died at 6:28 p.m. Wednesday, after doctors pronounced her clinically dead and had her taken off life-support systems.

The federal Consumer Products Safety Commission outlawed the sale of lawn darts in toy stores several years ago, saying they are dangerous in the hands of children, according to spokesman Larry Cornell.

The safety commission also adopted rules requiring warnings on lawn dart packages saying the darts are not toys and can cause serious or fatal injuries. The dart that killed Michele came in a box with such a warning.