JASPER COUNTY, IL- Wandtv.com reports that a collision between two ATVs on Jasper County Road 2150E on May 21, 2018, led to one teenager being seriously injured. The collision occurred after two teens, Cole Horner, 18 and a 16-year-old girl, who were traveling in an ATV, slowed the vehicle down in an attempt to grab a hat that one of them had lost.*
Behind the ATV driven by Horner was a second ATV in which Seth Meinhart, 19, and Stacey Smithenry, 20, were traveling. Meinhart failed to slow his vehicle in time and collided with Horner’s vehicle. Both Meinhart and Smithenry were tossed from their ATV in the collision.
The two were transported by private vehicle to a local hospital, and Meinhart was then airlifted to the Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana.
Both drivers were issued citations for operating non-highway vehicles on a roadway. Meinhart was also issued a ticket for failing to slow down to avoid an accident.
While ATVs are not intended for use on roadways, an average of 300 people riding in ATVs are killed in crashes on public roads in the United States every year. The majority of those killed, 75%, were involved in single-vehicle crashes. Most of the crashes involved the vehicle rolling over. Only 7% of ATV riders who died in accidents were wearing helmets at the time.
Alcohol seems to have factored into many ATV crashes. About half of all ATV riders who died in accidents had blood alcohol limits that met or exceeded the legal limit, which is .08%.
The group most often injured or killed in ATV accidents is children and teenagers under the age of 16.
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