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Parents of Rhino rollover victim may sue Yamaha
June 22nd, 2009 by Kurt Niland
Earlier this month we reported the story of Wyatt Spencer, a 13-year-old New York boy who was killed when the Yamaha Rhino 450 he was driving rolled over on top of him. Now the boy’s parents, Jim and Bonnie Spencer, are meeting with attorneys to explore the possibility of pursuing a lawsuit against the manufacturer.
Wyatt, who was an only child, was eager to take the Rhino out for a spin on the day the local Yamaha dealership delivered the vehicle to the family farm. Wyatt spent the better part of the day on May 28 test driving the brand-new Rhino with a school friend. Then, in the late afternoon, the rollover occurred in a field about 500 yards from Wyatt’s house.
Wyatt suffered severe head trauma in the rollover and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving by ambulance to an ER in Albany. Wyatt’s friend was not injured in the accident.
According to his parents, Wyatt had lots of experience driving ATVs and dirt bikes on the farm. Jim Spencer said the dealer that sold him the Rhino never mentioned the massive recall of all Rhino UTVs issued jointly by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission and Yamaha Motor Corporation on March 31, 2009.
“It broke my heart,” Mr. Spencer told Albany, New York’s NEWS10. “If I found out what I found out after, I would have never bought this machine,” he said.
The dealership maintains that Mr. Spencer knew the vehicle had to be retrofitted with safety upgrades and thus the recall was implied.
Investigators and lawyers for both Yamaha and the Spencers met in Knox last week to inspect the vehicle and the scene of the accident.
“I don’t want to see anybody else get killed,” Jim Spencer told NEWS10.
“Whatever other investigation needs to be done in this field, I am all for it.”
