Another ATV accident; West Virginia No. 1 in country

Tyler Sillman, 17, was riding his ATV on Mods Run Road in Mannington when he was in an accident Oct. 11.

He was airlifted to Ruby Memorial Hospital with two collapsed lungs, a broken back was in surgery for eight hours.

He remains in intensive care, but doctors hope to send to Shepherd's Rehab Center in Atlanta for further treatment by Wednesday. It is known for its treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries.

Tyler’s family has created a Prayers for Tyler Sillman Facebook page to give updates about his condition and facilitate donations for Tyler’s medical expenses.

West Virginia is No. 1 nationally in deaths and serious injuries caused by ATV accidents.

In September, also in Mannington, the latest in a long line of ATV victims in West Virginia was flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital (WVU Medical Center) after a 10 p.m. accident on Braden Drive.  

Two weeks earlier Tristan, the grandson of Monongah High Alumni Association president Linda Lopez Gandy, Class of 1965, married to Jim Gandy, broke his leg in an ATV accident on Fairmont’s Chesapeake Road and was flown to Ruby.

West Virginia leads the nation in per-capita fatalities from ATV accidents. There have been 588 reported ATV deaths in West Virginia since 1982, including 66 to children under 16.

Kentucky and Pennsylvania have higher ATV death totals, but West Virginia is No. 1 in per-capita ATV deaths.

Two-thirds of West Virginia’s ATV crashes happen on public roads. Tourists tend to stick to the trails more.

250 died in West Virginia ATV accidents in 1999-2006, including 215 West Virginia residents.

From 2007 to 2011, 1,701 ATV riders died in crashes on public roads in the USA — about 340 a year. Two-thirds of all fatal ATV crashes occur on public or private roads.