Authorities said that Lyle was wearing a helmet at the time but that she suffered from internal injuries. She was rushed to Johnson City Medical Center Hospital, where she died from her injuries shortly after arriving. The Washington County Sheriff’s CRASH team is investigating the cause of the crash.

In North Carolina, authorities in the town of Hope Mills, just southwest of Fayetteville, responded to a report of an ATV crash just before 6:00 Sunday night. According to the Hope Mills Police Dept. report, the accident occurred in a wooded area within the city limits.

Authorities identified the victim of the crash was 21-year-old Heather Nicole Campbell, who had just celebrated her birthday 3 days prior to the accident.

According to reports, Campbell was driving the ATV through a wooded area off of Legion Road when she hit a tree. The ATV rolled over into a ravine, ejecting Campbell, and then landed on top of her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Source: Fayetteville Observer

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Weekend ATV accidents claim the lives of 2 young women

Reports say that 15-year-old Danny Tyler Corn was the driver of the Honda TRX300 ATV. 14-year-old Tyler Noles was a passenger. Corn was driving the ATV west along Holland Chattoogaville Road and had crossed Georgia Highway 114 onto Johnson Cemetery Road, where he lost control of the vehicle.

According to the Rome, Georgia, State Patrol, the ATV sideswiped a parked car, hit a mailbox, and then crashed into a tree head-on. Both boys were ejected from the vehicle.

The crash occurred at approximately 7:15 pm. A nearby resident said he heard a loud bang when it happened.

Responding officers called for a medical airlift. According to Chattooga County’s Summerville News, Corn was pronounced dead at the helicopter’s landing zone and was not airlifted. Noles was flown to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, where he was admitted with serious injuries and remains in stable condition.

Georgia is one of the few states that has no laws governing ATV operation or safety. The only existing rules require off-road vehicles to be equipped with brakes and a muffler and that drivers obtain permission before using the vehicles on private property.

Because ATV manufacturers have done little to enhance the safety features of their vehicles, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission announced last month that it would begin the process of regulating ATVs.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV crash kills one Georgia teen, seriously injures another

21-year-old Jessica Lynne Braithwaite

In a report by the Athens, Alabama-based News-Courier, Braithewaite’s mother, Karen Abernathy of Elkmont, Ala., described Jessica Lynne as “free-spirited” and “outgoing.”

“She was very independent,” Abernathy told the paper.

Braithewaite was a cheerleader at West Limestone high School, where she graduated in 2005. She leaves behind an 18-month-old son Skylar.

Witnesses say that Braithewaite was attempting to pass another ATV when she lost control of the vehicle. Abernathy told the News-Courier that her daughter had ridden on ATVs previously.

According to the Southern Medical Journal, published by the Southern Medical Association, there has been a dramatic rise in ATV-related deaths and injuries proportional to vehicles’ explosion in popularity over the last 3 years. One study, conducted by Dr. George M. Testerman of East Tennessee State College of Medicine and published this year, showed that ATV-related injuries in his trauma center increased by 78 percent in a three-year period from 2004 to 2007. Only 20 percent of the injured ATV drivers were female.

Studies show that ATV overturns and rollovers are more common when the driver is 50 years or older. Younger drivers are more likely to be involved in collisions and suffer from head injuries than older drivers.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Young Alabama mother dies in ATV accident

The Mitchells’ daughter was a passenger in the Rhino ATV when it rolled over onto the passenger side. The June 2005 accident occurred while the ATV was being driven soundly, leading the Mitchells to allege that the Yamaha Rhino is dangerously unstable and defective. Like many people throughout the country, the Mitchells suggest the accident would not have occurred if Yamaha had set higher standards for Rhino safety.

While Yamaha stands by the safety of its Rhino, critics claim that the ATV is exceptionally dangerous because of its high center of gravity, narrow track width, narrow wheels and tires, and side-by-side seating.

The Mitchells’ daughter suffered severe injuries to her knee, arm, foot, and ankle in the rollover. She required emergency surgery and surgeons ultimately had to amputate four of the toes on her right foot.

“No more children or adults should suffer serious injuries for simply riding in the Rhino,” said Teresa Mitchell in report from the Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch.

“In a split second, these dangerous vehicles can change a life forever,” she said.

The Mitchells believe that their lawsuit against Yamaha will help prompt Yamaha “to acknowledge its legal responsibility to injured riders and make the Rhino a safe vehicle.”

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Parents of Tenn. girl injured in Rhino rollover sue Yamaha