A 10-year-old Sun Prairie boy has died after a UTV rolled during a crash on private land in Clark County, Wisconsin, on August 8. Samuel “Sam” Matthew Gitzlaff was riding in the vehicle when the operator lost control, according to Wisconsin DNR records, and neither helmets nor seatbelts were in use at the time of the crash.
Sam attended Horizon Elementary School in Sun Prairie, according to an obituary cited by WKOW. He shared a close bond with his brother Henry, and the family described a boy who loved dogs, camping at the Dells with his father and brother, and kayaking on the Wisconsin River. He had also traveled to Colorado on a road trip and to Mexico on a family vacation, the obituary noted. Sam's interests skewed toward pop culture too — he was a fan of scary movies, Spider-Man, musician Benson Boone, and the show Stranger Things.
A memorial service for Sam is planned for Monday in Madison, according to the same obituary. The crash itself remains under review, and Wisconsin DNR records indicate it occurred on private land in Clark County rather than on one of the county's designated public trails.
A County Built Around Off-Road Riding
Clark County is one of central Wisconsin's biggest off-road destinations, maintaining more than 135 miles of seasonal ATV and UTV trails across nearly 135,000 acres of county forestland, according to Clark County. Those trails connect into neighboring Jackson County and the Black River State Forest system, drawing riders from across the region. But Sam's crash didn't happen on that trail network — it happened on private land, a detail that matters statewide.
Wisconsin DNR safety and enforcement reporting shows that private property accounts for roughly 44% of all fatal ATV and UTV crashes in the state, the single most common setting for such incidents, tied with public roads at another 44 percent, while designated public trails account for under 10 percent. That distinction carries real consequences for enforcement, since safety mandates like helmet and seatbelt requirements are harder to police off the trail system.
Wisconsin Leads the Nation in Off-Road Deaths
Sam's death lands amid what state officials describe as a public safety crisis. Wisconsin leads the nation in fatal ATV/UTV incidents, recording 29 off-road vehicle fatalities so far in 2026, according to a DNR statement reported by WisPolitics, with the absence of helmets and seatbelts cited as the leading contributing factors. Of those 29 fatal crashes, 16 involved UTVs and 13 involved ATVs, and vehicle rollovers were the leading crash mechanism, accounting for 15 incidents, according to DNR records reported by the Vernon Reporter.
The toll follows an already brutal year. In 2025, Wisconsin recorded 42 total ATV and UTV fatalities — the second-deadliest year on record — with 32 of those crashes involving occupants who weren't wearing seatbelts, according to DNR data reported by Off-Road.com. That same reporting notes that statewide ATV and UTV registrations grew by roughly 20% between 2020 and 2026, surpassing 528,000 registered off-road vehicles, as UTVs in particular have grown popular among families.
New Seatbelt Law, Old Enforcement Gaps
Updated DNR regulations that took effect June 1 require all UTV operators and passengers to wear a seatbelt whenever riding in a vehicle equipped with them, per Off-Road.com's reporting on the rule change. Wisconsin law also requires all riders and passengers under 18 to wear a DOT-approved helmet on ATVs and UTVs. Separately, anyone born on or after January 1, 1988, who is at least 12 years old must complete a DNR-approved safety certification course before operating an ATV or UTV on public routes or trails, according to the Town of Randall.
Youth safety-gear compliance has been a persistent problem well before this year's numbers came in. In an August 2025 report, the DNR noted that five of the state's 25 fatal ATV/UTV crash victims to that point in the year were 18 or younger, and only one of those five young victims had been wearing a helmet, according to FOX 9. Whether Sam was wearing a helmet, and the specific circumstances of the operator losing control of the UTV, are among the details Wisconsin DNR records reviewed so far have not fully resolved.
Hoodline has previously reported on this trend, including in coverage of rising ATV deaths statewide and on other fatal UTV crashes this year in Marquette, Green Lake and Barron counties. Sam's death adds another name to a list that state officials say keeps growing as more Wisconsin families take to off-road trails and private land without the safety equipment now required by law.
