Experts urge people to practice ATV/UTV safety following deadly crash

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The death of a five-year-old boy and the serious injury of his 11-year-old brother caused by an ATV accident in Edinburg has prompted safety warnings from local officials.

According to the Hidalgo County Sherriff's office, they have responded to 30 ATV-related accidents since 2023.

Jaime Solis, general manager of Extreme Cycles in La Feria, said you should only allow family and friends to use your off-road vehicles if they are experienced. He said that with the upcoming holidays, many people will be bringing out their ATVs and UTVs.

Solis said one of the best ways to practice safety while riding is to know which vehicle is appropriate for your height and weight.

“They think that one size fits all and that’s a huge misconception. It’s not one size fits all. It’s size matters," Solis said. "For example, the 110 size is for six and up. The reason for that is because this is designed for their weight, their height and their speed.”

A 2023 report from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission stated that there were 2,448 deaths related to Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) from 2018 to 2020.

ATV accidents accounted for 1,643 of those deaths. The report also states that the most common fatality hazard with Off-Highway Vehicles was overturns and collisions.

Solis said many customers who come into his shop do not know that they can govern the speed of the vehicles they buy.

“Typically a lot of parents purchase the ATVs and just let the kids run off into the sunset. What they don’t know is that any dealership can govern the speed to as little as 2,3,5 miles an hour and with time the child progresses his experience and we can start raising the speed accordingly," Solis said.

Dr. Ryan Shine, a critical care surgeon at the DHR Health Institute, said child accidents make up the majority of ATV accidents they come across.

“Adults tend to get bone injuries, solid organ injuries that we can observe. Pediatric patients and young patients tend to have more severe injuries. They’re much smaller, they bleed a lot quicker, they don’t have as much blood volume," Dr. Shine said.

When someone gets in an ATV or UTV accident, Dr. Shine said it's important not to move the person or try to transport them to a hospital yourself.

"Don’t move the rider," Dr. Shine said. "Many times they have significant brain injuries or spinal injuries and they require first responders to adequately stabilize them before transport."