Mother strangled in freak go karting accident

A young Muslim mother has died after her Hijab became tangled in a go-kart's axle at Port Stephens on the NSW Central Coast.

The incident, at Port Stephens Go-Karts, was witnessed by the woman's husband and children.

Paramedics worked to save the 26-year-old Sydney woman after the incident but she was pronounced dead shortly after she was flown to John Hunter Hospital by a Westpac rescue helicopter.

The woman suffered severe neck and throat injuries in the accident after her Hijab (a headscarf that Muslim women use to cover their head and neck) became entangled with the go-kart while she was driving.

According to local media reports, Detective Inspector Peter Fox of Port Stephens Police said that part of the Hijab was wedged near one of the go-kart's wheel axles and that "the scarf was (then) pulled across her throat ... from one side of the body to the other side."

It is believed the woman's husband and children, who were on holiday in the Nelson Bay area, were at the track at the time, but it is unclear whether they were driving go-karts when the incident occurred.

Detective Inspector Fox said police removed the go-kart from the site and were mechanically and forensically examining it. Police have also spoken to the track's operators and the woman's family.

A decision on whether an inquest would be held into the young mother's death would be made after a brief is prepared for the Coroner, Detective Inspector Fox said.

WorkCover, which is responsible for the safety of amusement devices in NSW, is investigating the accident. However, in NSW go kart operations and licensing are a responsibility of the State Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation rather than Workcover.

A WorkCover NSW spokesman said the track had been issued with a notice to shut down indefinitely and that two prohibition notices had been issued.

The spokesman stated that "the first is in relation to the fact that the operation is classed as an amusement and therefore all the karts and the track were required to be registered with us and that was not the case."

The spokesman said the second notice related to a faulty kart, however, this was not the vehicle involved in the incident.

Image used for illustrative purposes only.

4th June 2009 - RECORD FINE AFTER GO KART DEATH