9-year-old hurt in ATV crash in Huron County

 

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Three weeks after the shocking crash of an all terrain vehicle filled with kids that sent a nine-year-old boy to hospital, where he remains on life support, police responded to another crash that was all too similar.

On Monday, paramedics treated another nine-year-old a girl this time and transported her by air ambulance to hospital after an off-road vehicle driven by a 12-year-old flipped at an area home.

This time, the injuries were not life-threatening, said police, and charges won't be laid.

But again, it was a head scratcher for police.

"There were a lot of 'no no's' going on," Huron OPP Const. Jamie Stanley said Monday. "They took the ATV without permission, they weren't wearing helmets, they were young inexperienced operators.

"Anybody of any age needs experience to operate these. They're not toys."

Monday's crash happened about 11 a.m., at a Central Huron home on Maitland Line, Stanley said. Shortly before that, a group of siblings and cousins ages three to 13 piled onto a Polaris Ranger utility vehicle with bench seating for three and a box on the back for transporting things.

"(The kids) got the keys, the parents weren't aware," said Stanley. When the engine started up, an adult heard it and came outside.

"Once they heard the noise, they came out and it was too late. They flipped it on the driver's side," he said.

The boys in the back bailed out, "fortunately for them," Stanley said. "The machine could've easily rolled overtop of them."

Paramedics treated a nine-year-old girl who was visiting from Rothesay, N.B. She was then air-lifted to London Health Sciences Centre with non-life threatening injuries, he said. Another girl went to hospital by land ambulance.

The crash comes exactly three weeks after a nine-year-old boy was seriously injured and placed on life support after he was thrown from an ATV driven by a six-year-old and filled with five kids at a family party in Elgin County.

In that case, police are still investigating, OPP Const. Troy Carlson said. The boy remains on life support.

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ATVS in Ontario

The driver must be at least 12 years of age unless they are under the direct supervision of an adult.
The driver must carry the ATV/ ORV's registration permit or a true copy.
The driver and all passengers must wear an approved motorcycle helmet that is securely fastened under the chin with a chin strap.
The driver can directly cross a highway where permitted, if they are at least 16 years old and hold a valid driver's licence.