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ATV ACCIDENTS AND DEATHS PLAGUE STATE |
| (04/21/2006) |
| Calhoun EMS and the Grantsville VFD responded to a report of an ATV accident at 6:30 p.m. on Sycamore Road near Russett Thursday evening. The riders of the ATV left the scene as emergency services arrived, reportedly a woman and a child. The accident was added to a number of others in Calhoun during the past few days, including the death of an Arnoldsburg youth. Two people were being treated from Putnam County after the ATV they were riding crashed into a minivan on a gravel road in Putnam County, throwing them from their four-wheeler. The crash is the latest in a spate of ATV accidents and deaths in the Mountain State. The two people, identified as Charles Harris and Josie Hawks, were flown by helicopter to separate hospitals, and at least one victim was in intensive care. Witnesses said Hawks was driving the ATV, was seriously injured, but conscious at the scene while Harris reportedly was alert. Three people riding in the van, including two children ages 2 and 4, were not injured. The van collided with the ATV in a blind spot in the crest of a public road. The WV Legislature approved on-the-road riding of ATVs, except on roads with a center line, but even then the ATVs can operate on the berm. Very few WV youths have taken a mandatory safety course regarding ATV riding. In the Putnam accident, an investigator said "There's no way they could have stopped at the speed they were traveling." Neither were wearing a helmet. The woman on the ATV was thrown from the four-wheeler into the minivan's windshield and landed just beyond the driver's door, the husband said. He said the ATV passenger was tossed onto the roof and fell to the rear of the van. ATV FATALITIES CONTINUE TO RISE
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