An 11-year-old boy was seriously injured in an all-terrain vehicle crash at 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21 in the Delaware County town of Hamden, police say.
The boy, who is not being identified, was driving with his 9-year-old brother on Stoddard Hollow Road in Hamden when he flipped his ATV into a ditch and was pinned beneath it, according to a press release from the Delaware County Sheriff's Office.
The boy, who was wearing a helmet, sustained serious head injuries. He was airlifted to Albany Medical Center by LifeNet helicopter, police say.
His 9-year-old brother, who was also wearing a helmet, was uninjured in the crash, and ran to his home in Hamden to call 911, police say.
Investigators believe that "excessive speed" was a factor in the crash. According to the press release, the boy was attempting to make a right turn off of Stoddard Hollow Road when the crash occurred.
The boys may have been breaking several laws when the crash occurred, according to the Delaware County Sheriff's Office. It is illegal to drive an ATV on a public highway, according to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Also, children under the age of 15 are not allowed to operate ATVs "without proper training and supervision," according to the press release and the DMV.
Members of the Delhi Volunteer Fire Department and Emergency Squad responded to the scene, the press release states.
A Schoharie man was injured in an ATV accident earlier this year, and two men were killed while driving ATVs in the Catskills region last fall, one in High Falls and one in West Kill.
