A five-year-old girl suffered a devastating head injury after her hair became caught in a go-kart engine.

Lani Use, from Houma in Louisiana, was riding the gasoline-powered kart at a family party when her hair became tangled, pulling her backwards towards the engine.

The force caused a severe scalp injury on the right side of Lani’s head, from her hairline to her neck, and also left her with multiple skull fractures.

Lani’s mom Macie Gautreux, 24, was walking just ahead of the kart when she heard her relatives scream as the accident happened last October.

Macie recalled: ‘It was terrifying. It was like a nightmare…

‘When Lani leaned her head back, her hair became trapped in the motor belt behind her and it pulled her whole head back.

‘The right side of her scalp was badly injured, from the front all the way to the nape of her neck.

‘She was drifting in and out of awareness and her eyes were rolling back.’

She and husband Jacob Use, 23, looked on in shock as Macie’s stepfather Jason Blanchard, 43, freed the unconscious youngster from the kart by cutting her hair with a knife.

Lani was then rushed to a local hospital with critical head injuries.

From there, she was airlifted to Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, and underwent a five hour emergency operation on October 28.

That saw surgeons treat injuries to Lani’s brain and stabilize her fractured skull using six dissolvable plates.

They then carefully repositioned Lani’s damaged scalp over the wound, helping her avoid a more complex skin graft procedure.

Lani returned to school in December, but still experiences minor seizures up to three times a day, which doctors are continuing to monitor.

She also struggles with weakness on the left-hand side of her body, due to nerve damage, and has difficulties with her vision.

Macie said the youngster faced emotional challenges after the accident, saying: ‘She cried a lot and she didn’t like how she looked. It was heartbreaking.

‘Lani loved dancing and cheering before the accident. She has to be careful now because of her brain injury. She can’t tumble and loud noises scare her.

‘She doesn’t want to be too far away from us at any point.’

The youngster found some comfort with the arrival of her baby sister Presley, who was born in November.

Macie has now urged other parents to be extra cautious when letting their children play on go karts.

She says she tied Lani’s hair up in a bun on the day of the accident, but it still came loose.

The mother added: ‘Even though this accident was horrific, I don’t think I can keep her locked up for the rest of her life.

‘I want to share my story so another child doesn’t have to go through what my daughter has experienced.’