Correction: An accident in which an Arkansas State University student, Natalie Eaton, was impaled by a broken golf club shaft at a fraternity house did not occur during rush activities. University spokesman Bill Smith said Thursday that ASU police incorrectly reported the circumstances.

An Arkansas State University freshman was impaled by the shaft of a broken golf club during rush activities at a campus fraternity Tuesday in Jonesboro.

University police reported that Natalie Eaton, 18, was seriously injured in the accident outside Kappa Alpha fraternity house, 1006 University Loop. She was taken to St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro before being flown to Regional One Health in Memphis for treatment. Her condition was unknown late Wednesday.

Officers responded about 5:42 p.m. to the fraternity, where they found Eaton lying on the ground with an aluminum golf club shaft stuck in the left side of her neck, according to a police incident report. Two students were holding Eaton's head and applying pressure to her wound. There was a "pool of blood" from Eaton's injury, the report said.

Witnesses told police that the golf club broke while a student was using it like a baseball bat. A student swung the club and struck a football that had been thrown, and the club broke into two pieces. The shaft flew about 30 feet before impaling Eaton, police reported.

The other piece struck an unidentified student in the back of her head and caused swelling and redness, according to the report.

Police reported that students at the fraternity were playing games and waiting for a cookout to begin before the accident. Eaton, of Harrisburg, is a member of Chi Omega sorority.

In a statement released Wednesday, ASU Vice Chancellor Rick Stripling said that counselors had been sent to the fraternity house. The university was monitoring Eaton's condition, Stripling said, but was not providing updates on her condition for reasons of privacy.

Fall semester classes began Monday at the university.

Metro on 08/21/2014