Chase Otter
Our
story of ATV's really starts back in the hunting season of 1996. My husband
Rick was out hunting with some friends and they were using the ATV's
while deer hunting. Rick was riding a Yamaha 350 4x4 weighing about 500
lbs. Rick was alone at one point in the hunt. He came to a slopped area
of land, stopped and got off the ATV in order to scan the territory for
any sight of deer. The ATV started rolling forward. He had to hop back
on the ATV in order to stop it. The ATV then tipped and rolled over on
top of Rick crushing his femur in 10 places. Rick started yelling for
help immediately. If he had been hunting alone that day he would of bleed
to death because of the compound fracture. His friends found him in time
and took him to the hospital. Our family did not know if the doctors
could even save the leg because it was so badly broken. The doctors were
able to save the leg after extensive surgery where many pins and a rod
were implanted to repair the leg. This is where Chase's story begins: Chase and his Dad left early in the morning around 4am. Before leaving, Chase had come into my bedroom and kissed me goodbye and he said, "I love you forever Mom." I said, "I love you too Chase, I hope you have a wonderful day." Rick, Chase, and the Smiths' were hunting that day in the Ashwood area of Central Oregon. The roads they were on were flat surfaced dirt roads. They had hunted all day and around 4:30 pm had started to head for home. Chase and Spud (his friend) kept asking, and begging to ride the ATV. My husband was hesitant to let the boys ride because he knew how I felt about the ATV's. Chase and Spud kept begging, "Please let us ride; we will go slowly." My husband Rick finally gave in and said, "Yes." Rick, my husband, decided to drive the pickup in front of the boys to make sure they would not go too fast. They kept the speed of 15 to 20 miles per hour. The boys took turns driving the ATV. Rick and Spud Senior went around a corner in the road losing sight of the boys. They stopped and waited for the boys to catch up. About 5 minutes went by when suddenly Spud Jr. came running up the road yelling, "Chase is hurt." When my husband and Spud Senior got to Chase the ATV was on top of him in a ditch on the side of the road. At the time of the accident Chase was driving the ATV. They had been looking for pigs while riding. Spud Jr. said, "He was looking to the right and then I looked forward and noticed Chase was looking left and the ATV veered to the right of the road heading toward a ditch." The ATV wrecked and Spud Jr. flew over Chase unto the ground. Chase went partly over the handlebars and then the ATV flipped on top of him pinning him in the ditch. They quickly pulled the Yamaha 350 4X4 off of Chase. Rick checked Chase's pulse and found there wasn't one. They quickly put him in the back of the pickup where my husband Rick quickly started CPR. The nearest hospital was at least 25 minutes away. Rick did CPR all the way to the hospital. Arriving at the hospital doctors and nurses had taken over. They worked on reviving my son for over an hour. I was contacted by Spud's mother where she informed me there had been an accident and Chase was badly hurt. I thought, "oh, a broken arm or leg," not having any idea the extent of what had happened to Chase. When I arrived at the hospital, I asked Spud Senior, "is Chase ok?" He never looked at me or responded. I knew then my child was hurt very badly. I ran into the hospital screaming, "where is my son Chase?" I entered the room where I saw my husband sobbing and where the doctors and nurses were still performing CPR on my son. Watching them put tubes in him was overwhelming. I went numb. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and feeling. "Not my baby," I thought. I went over to Chase and took his hand and told him I loved him. I asked God, "Please make him better!" Shortly after I arrived at the hospital the doctors told us our son had died. Chase's face was cut in numerous places. He had been bleeding from his right eye and had scrapes and cuts on his chin, cheek and on the right side of his forehead. The left side of his neck, near the base of his head was a large blackish, purple mark that appeared to be a bruise or a scrape. On the lower left portion of his neck there were similar marks to the one on the upper side of his neck. Both shoulders had scrapes and his inner left thigh had a small cut. There was also significant bruising on his chest. The majority of the wounds were located on the right side in his pectoral region. The Medical Examiner later concluded that the death was accidental and that the cause of death was due to internal abdominal and thoracic bleeding, and possible suffocation. The ex-rays also showed Chase's spinal cord severed. NO HELMET OR RIDING GEAR WOULD HAVE SAVED OUR SON CHASE!!! THE PROTECTIVE RIDING GEAR WEIGHS FAR LESS WHEN COMPARED TO THE ATV. What killed our son was the WEIGHT of the 500lb 350 cc 4x4 Yamaha ATV!!!!! THIS MACHINE IS NOT EVEN THE HEAVIEST ATV YOU CAN BUY!!! KIDS SHOULD NOT be on them PERIOD!!! You never get over your child that has died. Death is FINAL, and you don't get a second chance! I only say this because; I don't want anymore families to have to go through this nightmare! In loving memory of our beautiful
son Chase Michael Mennealy-Otter: I love you son!
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© 2007 Concerned Families for ATV Safety. All Rights Reserved |
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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 outdoor
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!