ATV rollover kills six-year-old Alberta girl

July 30th, 2009 by Kurt Niland

polaris ATVA 6-year-old girl lost her life on Tuesday when the she was a passenger in rolled over. According to the Edmonton Journal, the girl’s older stepsister was driving the on a rural, private road about 15 kilometers southeast of Stettler, Canada, when the rollover occurred.

According to Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Patrick Webb, both girls were wearing full-face helmets and were buckled in with seatbelts at the time of the accident. The girl who was driving was not injured and was able to run home for help, the Edmonton Journal said. RCMP authorities seized the and deceased girl’s helmet. Autopsy tests haven’t been completed.

According to Sgt. Webb, the girls were traveling in a Polaris Ranger RZR, an offroad vehicle that is equipped with a roll cage.

Len Wagner, traffic safety coordinator for the Alberta Centre for Injury Control, told the Edmonton Journal that ATVs are “a way of life” in rural Alberta. Aside from a law prohibiting the driving of an on public roads, the province of Alberta doesn’t have legislation that restricts use on private property. Because children of any age can legally operate an , many people, including parents, may interpret the lack of regulations to mean the vehicles are safe.

“She (the victim) wasn’t big, so did the seatbelt not work on (a person) her size? Did the helmet not work? We’ve got a lot of questions,” Webb told the Edmonton Journal.

Stettler County Council Joe Gendre, whose cousin died from injuries received in an rollover, told the Journal that rules are taken lightly by many people. He said the county designated an officer to patrol the lake district on an because helmet, seatbelt, and registration laws are so often ignored.

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