A 12-year-old girl is dead after the utility terrain vehicle (UTV) she was riding rolled into a ditch in Neepawa, Man., earlier this month.
RCMP said they attended Provincial Road 72 W at approximately 7:45 p.m. on May 1 where they found three girls with serious injuries.
The 12-year-old was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and died a few days later. The driver and another passenger of the UTV, both 14 years old, were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Mounties say the three were driving along the road when they slid into the ditch and rolled several times. None of them were wearing seatbelts or helmets.
RCMP continue to investigate with a forensic collision reconstructionist.
Speaking to 680 CJOB, RCMP media relations officer Tara Seel said UTVs are becoming more common in rural areas. She said it’s important to remind people to wear their seatbelts and helmets.
“There are really important steps to take to make sure that you get home at the end of the day,” said Seel. “It’s great to go out and have fun, but let’s also get everyone home safely.”
She noted that since 2021, 11 people have died riding such vehicles.
Seel also pointed to other injuries that can happen as a result of such accidents. Mental health-related injuries, she said, can inflict those who have lost their friends – injuries that stick with them for life.
In a statement on Twitter on May 31, Shared Health said staff at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg were treating children and teens with “serious injuries including spinal (and) skull fractures from unsafe or unsupervised ATV use.”
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