Toddler in critical condition after falling under ATV

Toddler in critical condition after falling under ATV

October 2, 2001

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

A three-year-old local boy sustained serious injuries after he fell off of and underneath an ATV turning into the Roundup Restaurant on US Highway 666 and Colorado Highway 184 in Yellow Jacket Sunday evening.

The toddler, Keegan Tucker, suffered multiple vertebrae fractures in his neck and was airlifted to Denver Children’s Hospital Sunday night where he was listed in critical condition Monday afternoon, according to Colorado State Trooper David Van Bibber.

"He is waking up and conscious and starting to regain all of his mental faculties," Van Bibber said. "He can move all his limbs, but he’s in very critical condition."

The boy reportedly was riding in a Mule ATV driven by his father, 40-year-old Richard Tucker of Yellow Jacket, and was sitting in the middle of the bench seat next to his sisters, Bobby, 5, and Kelly, 7.

The vehicle was equipped with two lap belts. The two girls were strapped into one on the right side of the bench and the father was wearing the driver’s seat belt. Keegan was not strapped in and none of the riders were wearing helmets.

The family was southbound on 666 from their home on County Road V when the vehicle approached the turn.

"The driver had checked traffic and made a left turn to cross the highway and at that time Keegan was ejected from the vehicle," Van Bibber said. "As the vehicle turned his weight took him out the right side of the vehicle and he fell under it."

Van Bibber said it was difficult to determine exactly how the boy ended up under the vehicle but the father theorized that the child might have tried to hang on to the side of the vehicle.

"Then, as he fell, he grabbed on and tried to hang on and that would have pulled him closer to the vehicle and eventually under it," Van Bibber explained. "They weren’t really sure what happened. He might have been standing up but we don’t really know."

No drugs or alcohol were suspected in the accident and the driver will not be cited for any traffic violations although it is in most instances illegal to drive ATVs on the highway, Van Bibber said.

"There’s a statute that allows ATVs to cross a roadway at a 90 degree angle. He was running from County Road V on the grass so he wasn’t on the paved portion until he moved up to turn," Van Bibber said.

The child was transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez where he was stabilized and then airlifted to Denver. None of the other people on the ATV were wounded.