Safety concerns rise after child dies in ATV accident

Neighbors are raising safety concerns after a 6-year-old was thrown from an ATV and died Sunday afternoon.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, both the driver and the child were not wearing helmets.

The crash happened on a dirt path along Sunshine Boulevard in Lehigh Acres.

A person who tried to help lives across the street from the crash scene didn’t witness it, but his Ring camera footage by his front door caught it as the ATV rolled over onto the dirt path, dirt flying all around, as he and his family rushed in to help.

A 29-year-old man was driving north on the dirt path with the 6-year-old before hitting a ditch. That’s when the child flew off of the ATV, sustaining critical injuries.

FHP have not confirmed if the two people involved are related.

Many of the people WINK News talked to are angry over what they say was the lack of precautions that led to the boy’s death.

Debbie Collins, who lives in the neighborhood, drove by the scene Sunday. She said many drive by with their ATVs, and even though they’re not being careless, they’re not being safe, oftentimes riding without helmets.

“They do a lot of it back here because it’s all very rural, and there’s a lot of little trails around here, and for the most part, they enjoy it. People pick up their kids from the bus stop in ATVs. They’re just a part of life back here. A tragedy, something horrible for the family. I feel bad. I pray for you,” Collins said.

Lehigh fire and Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene and transported them both to a nearby hospital.

The child was later pronounced dead.

The crash remains under investigation.