Another Tragedy

[David G]

We lost two 10 year old boys in my home town today to another ATV accident. It appears that they tipped over in the creek and drowned.

Everyone is in shock.

This follows the loss of 4 boys near Epworth Saturday.

Prayers to the family.

 

[DeltaRed]

So sad.Those accidents happen so quickly....

 

[alg]

lost a 9 yr. old last week by me.

 

[gene bender]

Four got killed here in Iowa when a pick-up truck ran a stop sign then today found another two messed up on a four wheeler.

 

[David G]

The two were 2 miles south of me, twin boys.

 

[SweetFeet]

Prayers sent for all the families who lost children.

I pray that mine all outlive me.

 

[Dave H (MI)]

Cannot emphasize enough how dangerous those can be. We use one constantly around the place and last year the older daughter was riding the younger (17) around. They got it in their heads they were hiding from me so left the lane and cut down a tree line. Bounced thru an old erosion ditch they forgot about and got quite a jolt. I was out of the truck looking for them when they rode up and the driver said her sister was acting strange. She got off the ATV, I asked her a couple questions and she just stared into space. Then she claimed she could not see and I verified that she was in fact completely blind. While I was checking her eyes she collapsed in my arms completely unconscious. I was checking her out (fireman in my younger days) while sister called 911. After a minute she came back and I loaded her in the truck...the he!! with 911. She came back just fine without further issues. I ended up having more trouble with the driver, who then collapsed in hysterics. We were very lucky. I am sorry to hear about the boys in your town. Take a lesson folks...discipline your kids in the dangers of this so-called toy.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 18:11:39 08/04/14) Cannot emphasize enough how dangerous those can be. We use one constantly around the place and last year the older daughter was riding the younger (17) around. They got it in their heads they were hiding from me so left the lane and cut down a tree line. Bounced thru an old erosion ditch they forgot about and got quite a jolt. I was out of the truck looking for them when they rode up and the driver said her sister was acting strange. She got off the ATV, I asked her a couple questions and she just stared into space. Then she claimed she could not see and I verified that she was in fact completely blind. While I was checking her eyes she collapsed in my arms completely unconscious. I was checking her out (fireman in my younger days) while sister called 911. After a minute she came back and I loaded her in the truck...the he!! with 911. She came back just fine without further issues. I ended up having more trouble with the driver, who then collapsed in hysterics. We were very lucky. I am sorry to hear about the boys in your town. Take a lesson folks...discipline your kids in the dangers of this so-called toy.

Glad she came out of it well. You took a big chance in transporting her in your truck due to the high likelihood of cervical spine injury with that mechanism of injury. That is unless you had a cervical collar and backboard with you.

 

[Dachshund]

We have 5 or 6 little "hoods" from the nearby town, that like to ride their 4 wheelers down the country roads around here. The town provides them with a dirt track, but they seem to like spinning cookies in people's driveways better. Since none of them is over 13 - and you need a current drivers license to operate them on roads and highways - they have no business being out here. With the dry weather, these roads are DUSTY. Even the Amish buggies are kicking up huge amounts of dust.
Last week, I was (what I THOUGHT was) about 1/4 mile behind two of these bandits. I was doing about 15 mph in the dust cloud when, all of a sudden, they appeared RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, ON MY SIDE OF THE ROAD! They had spun a cookie, then headed back at around 40 mph. I NARROWLY missed them, and they had to take the ditch. No one was hurt, but it could have been nasty. The state patrol and Sheriff have both had talks with them (and their folks). HOPEFULLY, they will start to listen.

 

[Zeke5738]

I"m an orthopaedic surgeon who plays with old machinery. I have lost all sense of humor when kids come in mangled by these machines. Children are not capable of driving 700 lb 50 mph ATVs. That is why age limits r written all over these units. Their parents get to talk to child protective services and I give them a stern lecture

 

[Dave H (MI)]

No, of course not, but she had been upright and walking around, had feeling in her extremities...in fact, came to and popped up off the ground while I was calming her sister and getting the call thru to 911. Confused and annoyed..."why am I lying in the wheat?". I had some experience and a high comfort level that she was not hurt as bad as that. Sure scared the B-haysoos out of us though.

 

[GregCO]

Prayers for the family. Can't imagine loosing a kid to something like this.

Greg

 

[Robert Major]

Sorry to hear about the accident. Our neighbors look after, there grandsons, sad story with their mom dying. So the twins wanted dirt bikes like there friends in town, these kids are about 13 now. all of a sudden the kids are riding in town and out past us on Gravel with other traffic. I kinda felt like calling the cops a few times I had narrow escapes with them and their friends out here.
Guess they got "seen" by the cops in town who followed them home, Haven't seen the bikes or kids in town since. Well atleast I can now look the grandma in the eye and tell her it weren't me dropped them in it. What a few don't know is theres an under cover cop moved into a house in town!
These bikes are as dangerous as a tractor or lawn mower to kids and the parents are paying the ultimate price in some cases, This should not be happening. Something needs to be done about it, Law changes, fines, ban the youngsters, or safety courses to buy own or operate them.! How it would ever get inforced I don't know. I would hate to see mandatory jail time for a greiving parent or owner that lost/ got a child killed in an accident, for letting them drive the bike, or quad
Regards Robert

 

[David G]

Correction 9 years old.

http://www.kwwl.com/story/26192236/2014/08/04/two-preteen-boys-injured-in-atv-crash-in-linn-county

 

[bison]

(quoted from post at 20:23:50 08/04/14) Correction 9 years old.

http://www.kwwl.com/story/26192236/2014/08/04/two-preteen-boys-injured-in-atv-crash-in-linn-county

ho in his right mind lets two 9 year olds ride a quad :roll:

 

[jennifer408]

i am so sorry for you, my prayers go out to you and your family.

 

[David G]

Jennifer,

These were neighbor kids, thanks for your thoughts.

 

[jennifer408]

i rode one of my friends once, went up and down a steep hill a few times and i would rather be on two wheels any day. i personally think a dirt bike is much safer.

 

[730 virgil]

after church yesterday lady told mrs 730 4 friends of her granddaughters were killed when some ahole blew a red light

 

[Anonymous-0]

There's nothing wrong with kids riding an appropriately sized quad or dirt bike wearing ALL the necessary safety gear. They can get hurt but they can get hurt on a bicycle, skate board, playing sports and any number of other activities too. The BIG problem is the parents that don't properly instruct them and supervise them or find someone qualified to do the same. I operate an MX track on weekends and some parents couldn't be bothered and just let their young kids do as they please. I've had to step in and educate a few of them. It's not the same as letting the kids hang out at the mall. Most small quads/bikes have throttle limiters, tether switches and some even have a remote kill switch for the parent. You can't just get a kid a bike/quad and let them go. The parents are the ones that are supposed to be the responsible ones. Sadly some have no clue.

This is a very tragic example. Where the heck were the parents when the kids were riding in or near a creek? Maybe there should be charges... to the parents for neglecting to properly supervise their kids.

 

[Bret4207]

We don't own a 4 wheeler, I doubt we ever will. Any of you in favor of "kids having fun" on a 4 wheeler are more than welcome of the memories I have of the dead, mangled kids I've picked up from under and around 4 wheelers over the years. Or of having to go tell their parents the klds dead. The idea that a kid is going to be responsible and use common sense on a 4 wheeler is bogus from the get go. I don't know what it is about them that affects kids but they are different than bikes for some weird reason. Maybe it's the 4 wheels and idea they won't flip or something.

Anyway, thoughts and prayers to the survivors of this accident and best of luck to the rest of the kids out there.

 

[Robert Major]

Totally agree on what can hurt a child But a motor vehicle just ups the risk by a fair %, that luck runs out at some point. I hear of more quad accidents here than I do of kids getting hit and dying falling off a pedal bike, or getting killed playing ball.
Yes this is all on the parents/guardian, and half those are morons, the kids I knows grand father is a huge ignore the law, general risk taker too, so where did they learn it from! .
I learned to ride a Dirt bike when I lived on the dairy farm, was about 10, and had a car for the fields at 12. I had strict rules for both and if I broke the strict rules, I got 2 week bans, I found out how close I was being watched once ,when I figured nobody was watchin.
Regards Robert

 

[Hay hay hay]

A couple years ago a 3 or 4 year old girl was run over and killed by her 7 year old brother on a full sized ATV here in KY. Lots of bad parenting out there.

 

[ericblaich]

people also neeed to not let kids ride atvs that are to big for the kids. The have age limits on them a 9 year old has no business on my 650 Kawasaki brute

 

[showcrop]

Stick and Brett have it right, it is lack of parenting. a good and experienced rider can ride these quads very fast on predictable surfaces. I believe that a big part of the problem comes when an inexperienced kid sees an older one going fast and thinks that he can too.

 

[Mac AR]

I'm with the rest of you. We have a group of hoodlums here too. I have a number of times had to put the tractor/truck/team & wagon in the ditch because of these little @$$holes running up and down our 1 lane county road at 40 to 50 mph. Luckily no one has been killed or hurt (yet), but the kicker here is that the law won't deal with them, and if you happen to mention anything to their parents you wind up wasting your breath and getting cussed out. I'd gotten so tired of dealing with them I took the 2000 and the 7 foot wheel disk up the road (again, narrow road) in front of them in 2nd gear, half throttle, the 2 1/2 miles to town for gasoline. Talk about some pizzed off kids. Threw rocks at the tractor and me, screamed, flipped me off, etc. Kinda got a kick out of it, really.

Mac in AR
AKA the hateful old SOB down the road.