Virginia Beach, VA (July 5, 2026) – Two people were critically hurt on Friday evening after an SUV struck a golf cart in the 200 block of Bay Colony Dr in Virginia Beach. The collision was reported at approximately 7:40 p.m. on July 3.
An adult man and an adult woman were found with critical injuries when emergency units arrived. Both were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The driver of the SUV was not hurt.
No identities were released following the crash. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, and no further details were available at the time of this report.
We are keeping both people in our thoughts and hope they make a full recovery.
What Makes Golf Cart and SUV Crashes So Dangerous for Cart Occupants?
Golf carts offer virtually no structural protection to the people riding in them. They have no doors, no crumple zones, and no airbags: features that modern passenger vehicles rely on to absorb and redirect crash energy away from occupants. When an SUV, which can weigh three or more times as much as a golf cart, strikes one at even moderate speed, the force transferred to the cart and its riders can be severe.
Residential and coastal communities increasingly allow golf carts on local roads and designated paths, which means they share space with full-sized vehicles more than in the past. This creates a growing risk in neighborhoods where drivers may not expect to encounter a slow-moving cart, especially in low-light conditions like early evening. The speed differential between the two vehicle types adds to the danger, as an SUV driver may have limited time to react to a cart that appears suddenly in their path.
Critical injuries in crashes of this type frequently involve the head, chest, and lower extremities, as riders in open carts have no barrier between their bodies and the point of impact. Even passengers who are not directly struck by the colliding vehicle can be thrown from the cart upon impact; these factors make golf cart collisions with larger vehicles among the more serious types of crashes seen in residential coastal communities.