Friends and family located his body in Adelanto after they searched the area for 45 minutes. Arapetyan was thrown out of his ATV after driving on a rough trail. His body became intertwined with the left front side of the ATV and was then dragged across the trail.

Arapetyan was driving at an unknown speed with no helmet and no seatbelt. At this time, alcohol and drugs are not considered to be a factor.

Careless driving is believed to have contributed to the accident. According to WSFA, Alabama State Trooper Zachary Harrelson said the driver of the ATV “failed to yield to the ‘Game and Fish’ vehicle and was subsequently struck by the ‘Game and Fish’ vehicle.”

The news report cites statistics from the Alabama Department of Public Safety that say in 2007, 121 ATV accidents have occurred on public roads in Alabama, resulting in 94 injuries and 13 deaths.

No helmet laws exist in Alabama, and training isn’t required by Alabama law, although it is offered by many ATV dealers.

As ATVs are becoming more popular among children, chidren are becoming more at risk of having an ATV accident.

The ATV flipped on the road and pinned the two girls’ bodies; both girls were not wearing seat belts, which may or may not have made a difference in their lives.

After she discovered the accident,  Milton Kuykendall, Superintendent of Education in Lewisburg, said, “Life can change in an instant.  We are so sorry for their families and friends. There is no greater sadness than losing a child.”

The girls’ teachers considered Bates and Dilworth, both sixth graders,  to be “excellent students.” Lewisburg Middle High principal James Brady said about Dilworth, “She was very well-liked by her peers and loved by her teachers.”

Levi Williams, principle of Southaven Middle School said about Bates, “She was an exceptional soccer player, playing on two Southaven recreational leagues, and a member of the SMS band.”

James Wheat, a friend of Bates, can only pray for the two families, considering both girls were very young.

A memorial service was held for Dilworth on October 21st while a service was held for Bates on October 22nd. The families desire any memorials for the girls be made to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Lauren Dilworth and Emily Bates were riding the Yamaha Rhino in the Lewisburg area when the tires are believed to have caught on the pavement, resulting in its overturn.

Both girls’ torsos and heads were injured during the crash; Dilworth died on the scene while Bates died in the emergency room.

DeSoto County Sheriff, Bill Rosco, believes the accident may have been avoided if the Yamaha Rhino would have remained off the road as state law requires.

With the history of Yamaha Rhinos causing countless accidents, you can’t know for sure.

October 28, 2008, will mark the anniversary of this young girl’s death, which was lost on a Yamaha Rhino; her body could not withstand the 1,100-pound weight of the ATV, which rolled over and crushed her.

One can tell Ellie loved life by the smile on her face in each photo of this video. One can’t help but fall in love with this beautiful little girl as she is watched bowling, swimming, dancing, spending time with her family, and just enjoying life.

Yamaha Rhinos aren’t just killing adults; many claim the lives of innocent children. A Yamaha Rhino stripped Ellie Sand of her promising future. Why are people still driving Yamaha Rhinos?

An air ambulance rushed her to the hospital and for 24 hours machines held her at the brink of life. But the weight of the 1,100-pound Rhino was just too much for her. Ellie died last October.

Since that tragic day, the Sand family has tried to make sense of what happened to their beautiful daughter. Their Web site is a way to warn other families of the dangers of Yamaha Rhinos before more people are killed.

The Web site touches on safety concerns, court cases, customer complaints, and independent testing of Yamaha Rhinos. It also includes a Rhino rollover movie and Yamaha marketing video. Perhaps the most startling page is the Rhino Victims page, which shows the glowing faces of the children and adults killed while riding this dangerous vehicle. J.T. Crow was 9; Lan McCloud was 8; Andrew Bahl was only 3.

In May, we reported that these Rhinos killed more than 500 people in 2006. Nearly 1 in 5 was a child. Can someone please explain why these horrid vehicles are still being sold?

Wright underwent two surgeries and expects more in the future. She walks with a limp and still feels pain from the screws and plate in her foot. The trauma, her doctors say, will likely cause early onset arthritis.

Late yesterday, Wright, who is from Culpepper, Virginia, filed a personal injury lawsuit against Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., charging that the Rhino is dangerously unstable and defective, according to Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch.

The lawsuit alleges that certain design flaws cause the ATV to easily tip and roll over, citing defects such as its top-heavy design, high center of gravity and dangerously narrow track width.

Despite hundreds of Rhino rollover accidents, some of which have resulted in serious injury and death, Yamaha has yet to recall the dangerous vehicles nor has it changed the vehicle’s design. Instead, last summer, the manufacturer announced that it would install free of charge half-doors and a passenger handhold for Rhinos made between 2004 and 2007. The half-doors and passenger handholds come standard in the 2008 Rhino ATVs, as does a warning stating that the vehicle may tip.

Still, another person has unfortunatuely died while riding a Yamaha Rhino.

The Ledger Dispatch reports the driver, who was from Livermore, received “major injuries” to his neck and face, and was airlifted to Sutter Roseville Medical Center for treatment. The passenger, a resident of Galt, endured injuries to her neck and right arm and also was airlifted for treatment, to Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael.

According to the news agency, the accident occurred Aug. 30 at close to 2:30 p.m., when the driver steered into a sharp left turn and the vehicle rolled over. Neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing seatbelts or helmets at the time of the accident, the report states.

The Ledger Dispath noted the Yamaha Rhino has been linked to rollovers since its introduction in 2003, and cites a report from U.S. Recall News, saying riders and passengers have suffered “debilitating fractures” when pinned under the weight of the vehicle. The two teens injured in the Saturday accident were in a 2007 model Yamaha Rhino.

In August 2007, the Yamaha Motor Corporation sent a safety bulletin to Rhino owners advising that the vehicle could be returned to Yamaha dealers for installation of new safety equipment - doors and passenger handholds, to improve the vehicle’s safety following numerous reports of rollover accidents and injuries.

The 2007 Yamaha Rhino owner’s manual was updated to include the new doors and handholds, and Rhino owners were provided a supplemental guide about the new safety features, and a label for the Rhino dashboard outlining the risk of vehicle rollover. Doors and passenger handholds were made standard features in the 2008 model of the Yamaha Rhino.

It is unclear from the Ledger Dispatch report whether the Yamaha Rhino involved in the weekend’s rollover accident had doors or handholds.

According to reports on local television station NBC15, the rollover occured on private property in the area of Lancaster, Wis., on Sunday morning. The report says the Rhino rolled over, pinning young Andrew. The boy was transported to the hospital by local emergency response personnel and then life-flighted to Madison, Wis., where he passed away. His father suffered a broken leg in the accident.

The family, no doubt, suffers a broken heart.

Sadly, this is just the latest in a series of tragic events associated with the Yamaha Rhino, which is suspected of design flaws that make the vehicle fundamentally unstable. While the details of the Wisconsin accident have not been released, information on the company’s web site, www.yamaha-motor.com and in the Yamaha Rhino Owner’s Manual acknowledges that “abrupt maneuvers or aggressive driving have caused rollovers - even on flat, open areas.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to this family.

Please, please use extreme caution if you own and operate a vehicle of this nature, and do not allow very young children to ride with you. Parents are certainly going to be careful when navigating a Rhino with a child aboard, but experience has shown that even the most cautious operator can find himself in the midst of sudden tragedy when an unstable vehicle rolls over and helpless passengers are thrown.