OUR PERSONAL STORIES

Concerned Families for ATV Safety offers a voice to families whose children were killed or injured on an ATV - to acknowledge the reality of our loss and bring that reality to a society numbed by statistics.

We welcome you to join us here and share your child's life and story.  Help us teach others about the children whose lives have ended or changed forever and how their families have been affected.

Let our children's stories reach other families so they won't have to say what so many of us say, "if I had only known."

In the name of our children let others be spared similar tragedy. 

	Kyle Rabe Our names are Sue and Tom Rabe. Our son was killed on a four wheeler. We live in a rural area of Oregon and most of our neighbors have acreage. It’s not uncommon for kids to visit each other by riding ATVs on a network of dirt and gravel roads and through farmers’ fields.
	Alex Ellert Alex had left to go camping and was to return on Sunday evening. At about 6:00 p.m. I got a phone call that would change my life forever. The "phone call" that every mother hopes she will never receive. The hysterical voice on the other end of the line told me that Alex had been killed from injuries he received while riding an adult size ATV.
	James Anderson James was by all accounts an exceptional child. His friend Mike wrote of him in a memory book. ”You taught me a lot, even if you didn’t realize it. You taught me of life, of nature and of purity.” James was so happy, so gifted, so kind and honest. It’s just impossible that all he was ended on a rainy morning in August.
	Jessica Adams Jessica was a beautiful, shining star to everyone she knew, including her boyfriend, who would later become one of her pall-bearers. Jessica loved to swim, dance, sing, and hang out with her friends. Two weeks after the thirteenth birthday party I threw for her, she and another girl were going too fast on a neighbor's ATV and hit a tree.
	Murphy Nichols I have 3 boys and 3 girls. My family and I were avid atv riders. We own 5 atvs. A suzuki 80, a 250 trail boss, a 400 scrambler, a 425 magnum and a 700 sportsman. My husband and I have rode atvs for 11 years. My husband and Murphy were up camping and we were going to meet them in 2 days.
	Tommy Brookshire We lost our Tommy in May of 95. Almost ten years ago. We were at a friend's home and someone had brought a three wheeler. The kids were excited to try and my husband rode the two girls first, just around the yard. Tommy, a good sized 12 year old, was too big to ride double with his dad, so he asked us both if he could try it.
	Mikey Brugger My name is Alexis, my husband Danny and I lost our son Mikey on an atv on July 9th 2005. Our lives as well as our families lives have never been the same since that day. Daniel is Mikey's oldest brother, Brittany is a year younger and Tyeler was 8 when Mikey went to Heaven. He was wild and crazy (all boy). The night before he passed away his friends slept over. We were going to our house in the Poconos the next morning.
	Chase Otter Our names are Rick and Kelly Mennealy-Otter. Our son Chase was killed on an ATV four wheeler. We live in Central Oregon and each year the men of our family enjoy the Oregon hunting season. Chase was an out door kind of boy. He loved to go hunting with our Walker hounds. He also enjoyed deer hunting, fishing and loved to carve things from wood. He loved nature!
	Sara Rose Hennarichs My story begins as a typical Saturday on September 13, 2003. My 13 year old daughter Sara woke up early that morning, made herself and her little sister breakfast and was off to a cheerleading event at the local middle school. Sara’s dad, Duane was away in Wisconsin for the weekend and I spent most of the day shuttling around my other 2 daughters, Amy (Sara’s older sister ) and Laura (Sara’s younger sister).
	Tyler Lumpkin ATV's are definitely made unsafe for children and adults. My son Tyler was a big 13 year old 180lbs and he rode ATV's since he was 3. My son even had his first ATV accident at the age of 3. He survived that one but 10 years later he died from an ATV accident we will never know what happened cause he was in the same field with grandpa but this one time grandpa let him go alone riding the ATV to the deer stand to pick up his hammer nails and saw.
	Carlton Powell, Jar Carlton Powell JR. was born September 27th 1988 at Georgetown University Hospital, in Washington, D.C. He died July 20th 2003 in a very tragic accident involving an (ATV) All Terrain Vehicle, while riding with friends and family. On the day he died we had one of the best days ever. We were renovating a rental property, and we worked until about 3:00 pm. Adam, Carlton's younger brother, asked if he could go riding on his dirt bike with some of his relatives.
	Bryan Paul Smith Bryan Paul 'B.J.' Smith, Jr. was born on June 15, 1990 in a small town in south central Louisiana. He grew up an only child and we loved and spoiled him from the beginning. He and his dad had a passion for motorcycles and rode almost every day. He didn't have an ATV of his own but had ridden with friends and family many times before.
	Steven "Chandler" Saylor Chandler Saylor, a sophomore at Swansea High School, was fatally injured in an ATV accident on May 10, 2003. In dedication to his memory and love for sports, a scholarship fund was developed for Swansea High School student athletes of outstanding character in continuing toward their educational goals.
	Talyssa Lynn-Ann Horn The horrible, fateful May day began like any other. The weather was a little dreary, with a little sprinkle still falling. That afternoon Talyssa wanted to go with her 7 year old aunt and grandpa, my father to his ranch in North Central Montana, I was a little hesitant because it was kind of cold, but in the end, Talyssa won.
	Austin and Justin Nolan Our names are Carrie and John Nolan. Our 2 sons were killed in an atv accident near our family farms in rural Southwest Wisconsin. Austin (9) and Justin (7) were “Irish Twins” born just 20 months apart. They were best buddies and looked a lot alike. They were sweet, smart, quiet kids who had a lot of friends. They both loved playing sports. Austin was very good in sports and was chosen to play on the older kids teams in soccer and baseball. Austin also loved being outside working with his Dad on the farm. Justin really liked animals and especially liked little kittens. He loved to draw and paint as well. The boys were always together and loved the outdoors. They liked helping out with the gardening and picking berries. They also looked forward every spring to hunting for morel mushrooms.
	Jamie Dunn My name is Kim Motes. Thursday Feb.28, 2007 started out like any other day. I went to work. The kids went to school. They came home from school, and were doing "kids stuff." Jamie had called me and asked if he could ride the 4 wheeler over to a friends house. I told him "no," we said our goodbyes and our love you's (which we always did, no matter what!), and hung up the phone. I never imagined that would be the last conversation with my son.
	Sean Kearney Our names are Mark & Katie Kearney and we live in Plymouth, Mass. We have four boys who are all 3 years apart in age. Our 8 year old son Sean died from injuries he sustained while riding on an adult-sized ATV on October 27, 2006. Sean was allowed to ride on an adult ATV, unsupervised. While most people were choosing Halloween Costumes, we were planning a funeral for an eight year old son.
	Garion Hight While on vacation in Ackerman Mississippi, Garion Tyler Hight rested peacefully in our arms while he entered the loving arms of Jesus Christ during a sudden accident on August 13, 2005 at 2:00 pm.
	Adam Morse Adam was the youngest of my 3 children, 6 years younger then the middle child and only boy he became very spoiled -- or should I say, babied, by Mom. He was a very likeable kid; well behaved with many friends in this small rural NH town.
	Wade Knox We thought we were one of the luckiest families in the world. Our two boys had just finished the school year with honors and we were just starting a long vacation. Then we lost our youngest son, Wade, on May 29, 2007... just short of his 8th birthday in June.
	Kaleb Morgan Curtis On August 24, 2007 our son Kaleb was riding on an Kawasaki 250 with a family member. They made a u-turn and went off a 3 foot embankment. The ATV flipped and landed on our precious child. He died instantly of blunt force head trauma. One second and he was gone.
	Jim Dougherty I allowed Jim only 2-3 minutes of freedom to go without me on the rolling hills of an open cow pasture while I waited for him at the gate. I found him pinned under the ATV. The foot well was across his throat suffocating him. His helmet didn't save him. One minute we were laughing, having fun and two minutes later he was dead.
	Benjamin Snyder Benjamin held on to the handlebars and went over with the ATV hitting head first. His life was taken instantly by severe head injuries. He was riding a Yamaha 80 Badger which is a youth size model appropriate for his age and a brand new helmet, yet that didn’t save him.
	Jason Graves It was a Saturday afternoon when I received the phone call at work that my son was in the hospital fighting for his life. Jason was 7 years old and should never have been allowed on an atv by himself.
	Jamie Lynn Messer It was November 10, a Saturday, and it started like every other Saturday. However this was the Saturday that my youngest sister Jamie Lynn Messer, age 12, would be fatally injured in an ATV accident. This was the Saturday that would change our family forever..
	Anthony Paul Wodzinski I lost my only son on June 10, 2006 due to an ATV accident. He was just 15 years old. I had sent my two children to their dad's for a couple of weeks during the summer for visitation. My precious son did not come home.
	James Addis James was going too fast to react properly (55 mph). He panicked and grabbed the hand brakes instead of using the foot brakes. When he did the 4-wheeler flipped several times and threw him over 100 feet. His neck was broken, and he died instantly.