Posted on 01/09/2007 9:26:25 AM PST by SmoothTalker
"A 2-year-old boy was killed in Charles County over the weekend when the child-size all-terrain vehicle he was operating overturned on him, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office said the boy was operating a Baja Wilderness 50 four-wheeler, which is designed for children 6 to 12 years old and equipped with a remote cutoff switch. When the boy's mother turned the ATV off by the remote, the vehicle stopped but the front wheels turned, causing it to overturn on the boy, sheriff's deputies said. He was wearing a helmet."
"According to the company's Web site, the Wilderness 50 model is designed for operators age 6 and older with "proper adult supervision." The chassis weighs 142 pounds, and the ATV is powered by a 49-cubic centimeter, four-stroke engine."
"The group also says that ultimately parents must decide if their children are of sufficient size and maturity to ride the vehicles.
To date, it said, only North Carolina has adopted the standards."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I hope the mother is charged with negligent homicide.
Gosh, I think I'll ask my 2-year-old if he wants to drive the van over to the grocery store now!
An idiotic one.
They never learn. Tragic.
Anyway, very sad.
Lord, receive this child into your arms.
Amen.
More likely, the mother will sue the ATV manufacturer and get millions.
I'm sure the first thing the parents will do is call a lawyer.
a 2 year old on an ATV without an adult? I don't think so!
The people who bought a house we sold some years ago had a boy about this age at the time. The father had a real macho thing going with motorcycles and ATV's parked around the 1/2 acre subdivision lot. The boy would ride an ATV by himself, snowmobile also. The family has since split up (the guy was abusive from what I've learned) and the wife still has the house.
There's no accounting for stupidity or gross ignorance. A neighbor whom we're still friends with told us of looking out his kitchen window one Saturday a.m. and seeing the guy showing his boy how to pee on the side of the house. Need I say more?
Tragic but oh well. Maybe the parents will learn from their stupidity.
"Tragic but oh well. Maybe the parents will learn from their stupidity."
I don't hold out much faith for anyone whose judgement is bad enough to let a two year old drive a motorized vehicle.
"Tragic but oh well. Maybe the parents will learn from their stupidity."
I don't hold out much faith for anyone whose judgement is bad enough to let a two year old drive a motorized vehicle.
2 Year old? Operating an ATV of any size is sheer insanity! These people should be charged with criminal negligence and reckless child endangerment!..........but that's just me.........
"These people should be charged with criminal negligence and reckless child endangerment!..........but that's just me........."
Yeah, that'll show 'em!
I don't think your solution will help much now.
"I don't think your solution will help much now."
Will it save the kid? No. But there should be severe consequences for such poor parenting and such recklessness. Somebody needs to be punished.
Sure.
The're NEXT kid will wear better headgear.
Nothing but God Himself can bring that child back, but the parents have done a stupid, stupid thing. They should be made an example of, for all to see, and perhaps other people would not be so stupid with their children.........
I totally agree...........but considering the nature of much of our society, it will most likely be the manufacturer, not the parents.
Why didn't his child-seat protect him?
While the lot of us will call for the mother to be brought up on charges, and probably justified, I tend to believe that woman will live in her own hell for the rest of her life with the guilt of killing her own child. I hope in some manner God will bring peace to her, her husband and family as I know if I did anything remotely that stupid that killed one of my kids I would never want to live with that guilt. Yes she was stupid but have a little compassion. My guess is she is and will be living in a prison far worse then one with walls.
Let me have it....I know most will want to tar and feather her.
I thought every parent knew this!
My brother in law is quite wealthy (to put it mildly). He has a small "taildragger" airplane for puttering around the immediate neighborhood. His 8 year old grandson can takeoff, fly, and land it on his own. 'Course, my brother in law is in the plane with him when he does it.
That said, parents can allow their kids to do things that sometimes can end up tragically. That's life. They are not my kids. And I don't want ANYONE who thinks they are a better parent than me telling me how I should raise my kids. But my youngest is 19 so this is now acedemic.
Do you hear that? Banjo music.
This type of parent is below Redneck.
Poor ?(Ethnic GrouP) Trash.
Compassion for an accident I can see. If the child had been on it with an adult driver, yes, compassion is in order. But even God doesn't protect you from stupid things you do to yourself. Just read about King Josiah in the old testament. He was a good king but did a stupid thing and lost his life in the process...........
We need ATV control, especially those extremist ones that are automatic. The first ATV vehicles were invented for war and they have no value in a humane society.
Nothing the state can do to her will come anywhere near the punishment she has already received. But the state's gonna do what the state's gonna do, I guess.
God may not protect you from stupid things you do to yourself but you can ask God for forgiveness. We are all imperfect.
Oh yeah. She accidentally put a 2 year old on a 150 lb vehicle.
And then she accidentally hit the kill switch.
I hope she doesn't accidentally walk into my office, accidentally pull a gun on me and accidentally shoot me in the face.
Jesus forgave the thief on the cross next to him, but he was still executed for his crimes by the government..........
Almost every year somebody, usually over 21, rides down the power easement at 60 mph at -40 and leaves his head over there and his four-wheeler and the rest of him over there.
Rednecks
Next question
>>Oh yeah. She accidentally put a 2 year old on a 150 lb vehicle.<<
I think that was on purpose. Y'know, like the guy that intentionally gets into his car and drives away, but accidentally runs a stop sign and kills an entire family by t-boning another car.
I think you're absolutely right. There is nothing that the law can do to her that is anywhere near the hell she will now have to live in for the rest of her life.
The little guy is in heaven now. Prayers for his family.
He was operating? Yeah, right. A two year old is capable of operating a machine which weighs 142 pounds. The child's parent(s) should be arrested and charged with the murder of this boy.
Your comment is very Christian. I'll save my compassion for the child, and allow God to handle the rest. But for the child's parent(s), since they had the obligation to protect this child against harm resulting from their own behavior, they should be held accountable in the eyes of the law.
A two year old killed while operating a vehicle? Obviously, it must be the manufacturer's fault.
Buzz off nanny.. It was a tragic accident. They happen every day in countless different ways.
TROLL
Look it was an accident - like the freeper you called a troll said, people die everyday in accidents in lots of different strange ways.
If he child was 6, some people would still be up in arms. Some people think it is abuse to let a 5 year old child play tackle football. Some think it is abuse to let any child have a motorcyle. A lot of gun grabbers believe it is abuse to let any child have a gun.
The list just goes on and on...
The bottom line is that accidents happen - I can't wait until the GOP sheds it nanny-state lobby.
Placing a two year old onto a machine what outweighs the child by way over 100 pounds is not an accident, it's an act of lunacy. Accidents are those things over which there is no control. Placing a child onto this machine was in their direct control. Please don't pretend this was an accident, when clearly is was not.
What does weight have to do with it? A 30 lb vehicle could have killed the kid just as easily.
You don't think it was an accident? You think that the parents planned for this to happen?
Maybe you could define for us exactly what constitutes an "accident". In the nanny-state world there is no such thing a as an "accident".
You are absolutely correct. I will don my asbestos suit with you. People do stupid things that have tragic consequences, but that does not mean that they are criminal. Living with this will be punishment enough for her. But there are those here on FR that would break up a family and send the mother to jail because of this and call it justice. Whatever happened to mercy?
The mother probably felt that the child was being properly supervised with her standing right there and using the remote. She did not anticipate that the thing would turn its wheels and tip over.
Whoever has never made a regrettable decision gets to throw the first stone.
Each year, nearly half a million children are treated in emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries. About 250 of these children die from their injuries.
I agree. That said, I wouldn't put a child of any age on an ATV of any size. The things are inherently unsafe - prone to tipping over, and plenty heavy enough to cause serious damage if they land on you. A dirt bike is actually much safer, and requires a bit of skill to learn how to operate - any fool can jump on an ATV and hit the throttle.
So the fact that the machine was specifically designed for children between 6 and 12 years of age escaped your attention on this one? Weight has a lot to do with this case as a two year old could not be expected to be able to control something of this size. But I guess that fact escaped you too. You don't think it was an accident? You think that the parents planned for this to happen?
That was an ignorant comment IMHO. Most parents don't "plan" for their child to be hurt or killed. But precautions must be taken, and commen sense used when raising children. Any parent who could not foresee the possibility for harm with a two year old placed into a machine meant for no younger than a 6 year old is either thick headed or uncaring about the safety of their child. Not planning for such an incident to occur is not an excuse for taking the risk in the first place. Sorry, but your position is wrong on so many levels. No, this was not an accident. It was a tradgedy looking for a place to happen because of the stupidity of people placing their child in harms way in the first place. This should not have happened, and you must know that in your heart. If your having problems with understanding the term "accident" then perhaps you should consider not having children.
And how many of them are two years of age who go around their neighborhood riding BICYCLES designed for children who are much older and have been taught how to ride on them? Comparing the injuries of children hurt or killed due to bycycle related accidents to placing a two year old, who doesn't have the cognitive ability to make a better decision, shows ignorance. Thanks for playing, try again.
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