Child, 2, Is Killed Riding On ATV

A 2-year-old boy was killed in Charles County over the weekend when the child-size all-terrain vehicle he was operating overturned on him, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office said the boy was operating a Baja Wilderness 50 four-wheeler, which is designed for children 6 to 12 years old and equipped with a remote cutoff switch. When the boy's mother turned the ATV off by the remote, the vehicle stopped but the front wheels turned, causing it to overturn on the boy, sheriff's deputies said. He was wearing a helmet.

The boy, the child of a couple who live near La Plata, was taken by ambulance to Civista Medical Center in La Plata, then taken by a helicopter to Children's Hospital in Washington, where he was pronounced dead at 4:21 p.m. Saturday. His parents were not charged with a crime, the sheriff's office said.

A family member declined to speak to a reporter yesterday. Three neighbors described them as a nice couple; one said they were responsible parents who were devastated by the accident.

In 2005, there were 57 ATV-related deaths of children younger than 12 years old, according to figures released Dec. 6 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It did not report how many were on child-size vehicles.

For children younger than 16, the number rose to 120. An estimated 40,400 people younger than 16 were treated in emergency rooms for ATV-related injuries, the commission said.

In 2005, there were an estimated 136,700 ATV-related injuries. There were also 467 ATV-related deaths, although a safety advocacy group says that number will probably increase as more reports come in to the safety commission.

The All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Institute, an industry-sponsored group and a division of the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, said the company that made the ATV, Baja Motorsports, is not a member. Efforts to reach Baja Motorsports were unsuccessful yesterday.

According to the company's Web site, the Wilderness 50 model is designed for operators age 6 and older with "proper adult supervision." The chassis weighs 142 pounds, and the ATV is powered by a 49-cubic centimeter, four-stroke engine.

The institute recommends that children younger than 6 not operate ATVs and sets standards based on the age of riders. For riders 6 to 11, the group says, ATVs shouldn't be allowed to travel more than 15 mph and should be delivered to customers with the speed adjusted so it can't top 10 mph. Standards for ages 12 to 15 are slightly less stringent.

The group also says that ultimately parents must decide if their children are of sufficient size and maturity to ride the vehicles.

To date, it said, only North Carolina has adopted the standards.

Sue DeLoretto-Rabe, co-founder of Concerned Families for ATV Safety, whose son Kyle, 10, was killed on an ATV, said that North Carolina has the strictest laws and that she would like to see stricter laws in other states.

Staff researcher Meg Smith also contributed to this report.