Baylee Johnson died on Aug. 31 after her hair was caught in a go-kart sprocket during an Aug. 23 incident in Sumter County. She was 24.
Robbie Baker, the Sumter County coroner, said, "Johnson’s hair was caught in a sprocket of the go-kart, which caused her injuries." Johnson was taken to a hospital in Florence after the incident.
Sumter County injury timeline
The sequence began on Aug. 23 in the area of Skinner Road in Sumter County, where Johnson was injured in the go-kart incident. Her death came eight days later, on Aug. 31, after she had been hospitalized in Florence.
Johnson’s family said she was 15 weeks pregnant at the time of the incident and that she and her boyfriend had just learned they were having a baby boy they planned to name Johnny. They also said she had just secured her dream job as a medical assistant at Prisma Health OB/GYN–Sumter.
Baylee and Johnny memorials
The family said memorials should be made in memory of Baylee and Johnny through the McLeod Health Foundation. That request places the focus on both Johnson and the unborn child her family said they were mourning.
Johnson’s obituary said a visitation was being held Friday from 5-7 p.m. at Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home in Sumter, and a celebration of life was to be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Northside Memorial Baptist Church. For people close to the family, those services are the immediate next steps after the fatal injury.
