A 10-year-old girl was killed last month in Missouri when the ATV on which she was riding with a friend flipped. It landed on top of her.

Madison County Sheriff’s Capt. Brad Wells said the department was called to the 11000 block of Bononi Road in New Douglas at 6:20 p.m. for a report of an ATV accident.

Montana Niccole Garner of Livingston was a passenger on a four-wheel, adult-size ATV being driven by a 12-year-old female friend. They were on the private farmland of the 12-year-old’s family, which is not far from the victim’s own home, Wells said.

“They were making a turn and it flipped and then landed on the child,”  said Madison County Sheriff’s Capt. Brad Wells. “This appears to be strictly an accident.”

Emergency personnel were summoned to the scene, and the girl was taken first to Community Memorial Hospital in Staunton, then flown to a St. Louis area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The ATV’s driver suffered minor injuries, Wells said.

Area police have seen a number of fatal ATV incidents in the last few years. Wells said people using ATVs should follow warning stickers that indicate the limits of the vehicle and the recommended ages of drivers, and should wear appropriate safety gear.

Source: The Telegraph

53-year-old Dennis Ralich was killed when he was thrown from his Honda all-terrain vehicle.

Ralich’s death is puzzling since he was known as a skilled and responsible driver.  The road was flat at the scene of the accident, and investigators believe that speed was not an issue.

Steven Ralich, Dennis’s son, found his father’s ATV rolled over near a soybean field.  He later found Dennis’s body in a soybean row.  Emergency personnel arrived at the scene but were unable to revive Ralich.  It was concluded that Ralich died instantly from the multiple injuries he suffered.

The county Sheriff’s Department is conducting an investigation.  The department is looking at Ralich’s ATV for signs of mechanical failure, but they have not ruled out the possibility that Ralich hit an animal.

The county coroner, said, “There was some damage to the ATV from overturning, and there may have been some other issues with the machine.”

ATVs are notoriously top-heavy and poorly designed. If you or someone you love has been killed or injured by one of these dangerous machines, please contact an experienced Texas car wreck attorney for professional insight.

The Yamaha Rhino has been under great scrutiny over the number of accidents and deaths related to the vehicle rolling over.

The Rhino was tested back in 2002 while it was still in development.  The tests took place in 100 miles of rugged trails in Kentucky.  Keisuke Yoshida, the president of a U.S. subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co., was test driving a Rhino with Ike Miyachi, a company vice president, riding in the passenger seat.  The Rhino rolled over and gave Miyachi a foot injury.
Now years later, we see that the crash was a good indicator of what would come.

Yamaha has sold more than 150,000 Rhinos since it was introduced in 2003.  People love the narrow Rhino and its ability to crawl over and between rocks.  But with these benefits also came negatives.  The narrow body and a high center of gravity of the Rhino make it prone to rolling over while turning even at safe speeds.  The seat belts also tend to unspool during rollovers and the passengers are ejected.

Inez Tenenbaum is the chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.  She stated that the Rhino has “significant problems,” and that, “The public needs to be aware that, already, 59 people have been killed in these vehicles.”

She also added that if the Rhino is still unsafe even after they make changes, then she might seek a ban.
Yamaha announced a “free repair program” after all of the complaints.  They agreed to install spacers on the rear axles of the vehicles to make them a few inches wider, to remove their rear anti-sway bars, and install protective half-doors.  Also people who watched a safety video would receive a $100 coupon to purchase a helmet.

Yamaha maintains there is nothing wrong with the Rhino.  They say that rollovers only occur when drivers do not follow instructions or warnings.  The Rhino is “a safe, reliable and versatile vehicle,” and “virtually every Rhino-related incident involves at least one warned against behavior,” according to a statement issued by Yamaha Motor Corp. USA.