Tooele-area ATV rollover injures Californian

A California man visiting Tooele County was taken to the hospital in critical condition following an all-terrain vehicle accident Friday.

While riding ATVs, the 34-year-old man, a first-time ATV rider, and his Utah friend were on a foothill trail near Five-Mile Pass, located near the Utah County border, said Tooele County sheriff's deputy Jeff Mott.

The Utah man was riding in front and stopped to make sure his California friend was keeping up.

He may have stopped suddenly, Mott said, because the California man ran into the back of his friend's ATV.

The crash happened about 3:15 p.m., and it was slow enough that neither ATV was damaged, but the trail was slanted at a steep angle and the California man's ATV began to roll over, Mott said.

The ATV rolled on top of the man at least twice, injuring him, Mott said.

The man complained of back pain and said he couldn't feel his legs, but by the time a medical helicopter arrived, some of the feeling in his legs was beginning to return.

"He's lucky he didn't have any more severe damages," Mott said.

Neither man was wearing a helmet, he said.

Over the past five years, there has been at least one ATV-related fatality per year in Tooele County, Mott said.

The Deseret Morning News reported that Howard Thomas Hood, 53, was killed June 12 when his ATV flipped in Tooele's Ophir Canyon.

In May 2003, a 62-year-old man died when his ATV rolled, and he fell off a 15-foot drop. The ATV landed on him.

"It's not if, it's when (it happens)," Mott said.

Many people think they can handle an ATV without receiving training, but the machine the California man was riding, although it was a sturdy machine, may have been too much for him, Mott said.

"They don't realize how fast (a crash) can happen," he said.

Utah State Parks and Recreation provides an ATV training course for $10. More information can be found at www.stateparks.utah.gov.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com