14 Month Old Dies In ATV Crash

Posted April 3 2007 11:04 AM by staff
Filed under: Atv News, Yamaha Atv

Did common sense suddenly leave Hunter Benton's grandfather?

The little tyke was 14 months old when his grandfather decided to take him riding on his Yamaha Grizzly 660 4x4. The child was on his lap when they crashed into—get this—a parked car.

According to WPDE, ATV safety regulations warn not to have additional passengers on the 4x4 and you’d think it would be common sense, especially, not to put a toddler while riding. While the state of South Carolina has been considering a law to ban passengers on ATVs, the grandfather will not be charged since there is currently nothing on the books and the accident occurred on private property.

"It's a tragedy," said neighbor David York, who heard the entire accident. "There's nothing we can do about it. All we can do is pray for the family."

Yeah, a tragedy alright. But worse, so easily avoidable.

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Reader Comments:

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1. Well, let's pick things down to bare bones.
Even if I was Doug Gust himself and knew every movement, every skill/talent possible on all atvs no matter the size, I would never put a 14 month old baby on an atv. A year and two months sounds more realist. Even so, a year and 2 months, I don't even consider that a toddler. It's ridiculous. You would think the grandfather would have known that he was dumb enough to hit a parked car because that's actually very very hard to do. I'm not the best rider in the world but I can tell you it's even easy to weave through tight trees on my Raptor 700. I've never hit one (knock on wood). So it's like: What's wrong with people? Screw that. A little baby died because of stupidity. Plain and simple. He hadn't even been a year close to living his life. If this ever happens again I'm going to personally find and knock the crap outta whoever was driving. (please note that all these are my opinions and I am in no way threatening anyone) Take this as a wake up call.

superiorfyghter87 - Posted April 27 2007 07:00 PM

2. By the way-to add to my comment-. I took an 8 year old on my fourhweeler before but even she, I was cautious and hesitant about. Even being 8 years old, I sat her in front of me and went slowon a gravel road in a peaceful subdivision. So I guess it's the mentality of some idiots. (opinion)

superiorfyghter87 - Posted April 27 2007 07:03 PM

3. This was a terrible accident. Yes very avoidable, but let's learn something from it! ATVs are NOT toys, so let's not treat them as toys! They aren't meant for children. I live in Minnesota......we have a helmet law, but........many, many parents and Grandparents let kids ride without one because they think they are being "nice". Such is not the case.......it is child endangerment! This Grandfather has to live with his mistake the rest of his life.......thank God it isn't you! LEARN FROM HIS EXPERIENCE.
HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU!

bluepolarisgirl - Posted May 15 2007 01:45 PM

4. wow not taking extra care of the little one on the 4-wheeler. you always have to be extra careful with little kids on the 4 wheelers.

mike33 - Posted July 10 2007 09:17 AM

5. In my opinoin, if someone isn't old enough or aware enough to operate an ATV they shouldn't be on it at all. Theoretically, two people old enough and aware enough to operate an AVT probably wouldn't fit on one anyway. Maybe this situation is why the manufacturer puts the disclaimer tags on their bikes that say "no passangers?" Don't get me wrong, I know that if every last rule was followed on an ATV they wouldn't be any fun but if a passanger distracts someone enough to run into a parked car, they ought to know better than to have them on it in the first place. Again, just another opinion...

Big_ED2008 - Posted August 13 2007 07:42 PM

6. MY SON IS 13 AN HES GOT A 700 IF HES GOING TO FAST I MAKE HIM PUT IT UP AN JUST SATERDAY I CAUGHT HIM PULLING A 2YEAR OLD ON A WAGON AT 10 MPH *** LUCKY HE DIDNT GET KIILLD!

BUDDY16 - Posted September 4 2007 03:30 PM

7. Wow, I'm sorry to hear this... very sad!

MissLovell - Posted October 2 2007 08:49 AM

8. I have a one year and six month baby and I would never even consider putting him on an ATV. If I did I would ride the slowest possible, as long as he had the experience. I think it's just an awfull tragedy. I'm sure the granpa never intened on killing his granson. Reguardless of how stupid the idea of putting a 14month old baby in an ATV sounds...

rcarrion - Posted November 2 2007 02:04 PM

9. sry intended and grandson

rcarrion - Posted November 2 2007 02:10 PM

10. I have a hard time blaming anybody here but the off-road community themselves. Leadership (if you can call it that) has completely shied away from taking a stand on these type of issues in large regional areas such as the Appalachias where not only many machines are sold....but where the majority of these kids are getting killed. I quit going to Windrock after witnessing two maybe 7 helmetless 7 year olds rip on up the mountainside (doubled up) on a youth quad with no supervision (met them out on the trails)...and this was in plain view of hundreds of folks there at a big event that day.
Non-profit off-road organizations and these aftermarket vendors have been after but one thing over all these years (either a tax-written off job or profit) and have given absolutely 'zero' back to the sport in terms of publicly standing up like a man on anything that might affect their membership money or profits negatively.
Again, this Grandpa has enough to deal with...how about turning our focus towards the gutless?

SxS - Posted November 3 2007 02:54 AM

11. my boys started riding at age 8, and i bought my neice a yamaha pw50 when she was 8. and all of them had the body armor and gear.

14 months old?? gah!! I have to wonder... who in the world is stupid enough to put a 14 month on a fourwheeler with them?
that's just retarded.

????

wolf1 - Posted November 30 2007 06:44 AM

12. I feel very sorry for the grandfather(being one myself), but I feel even more sorry for the child who never will have the chance to experience life. After reading the above messages, there are some who do not ride and are against anyone riding or enjoying the sport. This is the only sport where you can see 3 and 4 generations all playing together, while this is true. We all need to pay attention to the safety while riding. If the passenger is too small to support wearing a helmet then they should not be on the machine period. Everyone should at least wear a helmet as well as other safety gear. No one riding double should ever be riding in a reckless manner.

bumblebee - Posted December 11 2007 08:40 AM

13. Well, this blog is nearly a year old now...but it's one that needs to stay up permanently. This one can serve as a wake-up call....I see a LOT of people doing this same thing with very small children. I can sort of understand it...the child wants to ride (we all do, right?) and Daddy or Grandpa just wants to take the child for a short ride...however, Dad and Grandpa have the responsibility to keep the child safe. That effectively precludes taking him or her for a ride on the Grizzly. I've even seen one man putting a child that was obviously terrified and screaming at the top of her lungs on an ATV for a ride. Ridiculous. <continued>

Sasquatch51 - Posted January 15 2008 04:54 AM

14. I know that Grandpa feels bad, and as cold-hearted as this might sound (I'm a Grandpa myself), he SHOULD feel bad. Bottom line-he killed his grandchild being irresponsible. I don't really have a lot of sympathy for him (I saved all that for the mom and dad and the child's siblings). He is supposed to be the adult and have control of the situation and make SURE his grandchildren are safe at all times when they are in his care. Putting a 14-month old on an ATV is criminally irresponsible. Even if the child is crying and pitching a fit because she wants to ride, children HAVE to understand that there are some things they just can't do until they are older. It is our job as the adult to BE the adult.

Sasquatch51 - Posted January 15 2008 05:02 AM

15. I have sympathy for the grandfather as the guilt is probably overwhelming for him. I have to agree with Sasquatch51 and what others have to say because there is a commonsense/responsibility aspect to this which needs to be examined. I wouldn't take a 14 month old out on one. Heck, I doubt I would take my nine year old out on one if it's designed for one. But unfortunately, not all accidents can be attributed to bad judgment or to the lack of supervision. Sometimes the product itself can be dangerous. I just created a forum looking for witnesses who saw a fatality from a Yamaha Rhino rollover which occurred in California last April. All indications are this was a death caused from a faulty design and not user error or bad judgment. The more I researched the Rhino, I've learned that vehicle has a high than normal propensity to rollover and cause injury. So I caution about passing judgment until more is learned. That's all I wanted to say.

texlaw - Posted April 1 2008 11:56 AM

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