The Lubbock City Council declared the month of July Golf Cart Safety Awareness Month in honor of Luke Siegel. There was a ceremony Friday morning where they presented the official month to Tom Siegel.
On July 28th, 9-year-old Luke Siegel was involved in a golf cart accident that nearly took his life. He suffers from severe brain injuries.
The goal of Golf Cart Safety Awareness Month is to create public awareness of state laws and warn parents of the dangers of golf carts.
“I think the biggest thing is parents don’t know what they bought,” said dad of Luke, Tim Siegel. “These golf carts are modified. They’re heavier, they’re taller, they’re faster, they’re much more dangerous. It’s not what we used to drive just on the golf course.”
Since his son’s accident, Tim Siegel has started a foundation called Team Luke to help other families that have suffered from similar events.
“We started a foundation because it was difficult for me to live,” said Siegel. “This foundation is formed to help families of children who have suffered injuries like ours. So golf cart safety is a part of it but this foundation hopefully will be able to help families emotionally and financially and that is so important to me.”
Siegel said that the support of the community has been inspiring.
“I could spend hours talking about the Lubbock community,” he said. “We have a friendly city, we know that, but we also have a compassionate city. I don’t know if I’ve gone anywhere without someone coming up to me saying that Lucas made a difference in their life.”
The Lubbock Police Department was also at the ceremony this morning. As part of Golf Cart Safety Month, LPD will help educate Lubbock residents on golf cart safety.
“If we ever get a call or there is call made for kids or someone who is operating a golf cart, we do respond to that call,” Officer Mark Hurd said. “We are more verbally speaking to the parents and seeing if we can get some supervision or see where the kids are going.”
