Table 1 Family‐related ATV deaths in West Virginia, 2001–mid 2007.
| Year | Total annual deaths | Month occurred | Gender, position on ATV, relation | Age of decedent | Crash event | Injury | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 20 | July | Male, passenger, grandson | 5 | ATV went over embankment and flipped when ATV was put in reverse | Massive head injuries | No helmets; grandmother was driving ATV with twin 5‐year‐old grandsons as passengers. She and surviving grandson treated and released |
| 2002 | 27 | March | Female, driver, mother | 34 | ATV went off dirt road and hit tree | Massive head trauma | Daughter was a passenger |
| July | Male, passenger, grandfather | 73 | ATV plunged down a steep embankment on a private dirt road | Multiple trauma | 12‐year‐old grandson was the driver; he had little experience operating an ATV | ||
| 2003 | 35 | May | Female, passenger, grandmother | 56 | ATV went out of control in U‐turn causing victim to fall and hit head on pavement | Closed head injury | Passenger not helmeted. 6‐year‐old grandson driving ATV |
| Male, passenger, son | 8 | 3‐wheeled ATV struck steel gate at cemetery entrance | Blunt head trauma | Father was driving ATV; no helmets | |||
| 2005 | 39 | June | Female, passenger, sister | 8 | ATV went out of control on a road curve and rolled over | Multiple head and chest injuries | No helmets; 14‐year‐old sister was the driver, slightly injured. Sisters were visiting their mother |
| 2006 | 52 | May | Male, driver, grandson | 10 | ATV went into ditch causing passenger to fall off; ATV came out of ditch and flipped over on driver | Crushing force trauma | No helmets; grandfather was passenger |
| July | Female, passenger, wife | 29 | ATV left road and hit tree | Blunt trauma | Husband was driver and also injured | ||
| August | Male, driver, brother | 25 | ATV went out of control on rural road | Traumatic brain injury | Driver and passenger not helmeted. Brother riding as passenger | ||
| August | Male, driver, father, uncle | 49 | ATV flipped backwards on a steep hill | Multiple | Driver not helmeted; daughter and nephew riding as passengers treated and released | ||
| 2007* | 19 | May | Male, driver, brother | 14 | ATV hit utility pole at high speed doing “wheelie” | Multiple | No helmets. Younger brother was passenger and was slightly injured |
*Through May 2007.