An 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy were flown to trauma centers Tuesday afternoon after an ATV crash on private property in Pasadena, Maryland, with fire officials describing their injuries as serious but non-life-threatening. Anne Arundel County police are now investigating what led up to the crash.
According to WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore, fire department personnel were called shortly before 1 p.m. to a private property in the 8300 block of Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard for a reported ATV crash. Anne Arundel County fire officials told the station that both boys were flown to trauma centers for treatment. The station's report, citing fire officials, said the 11-year-old and the 15-year-old each suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Anne Arundel County police are investigating the crash, per the same account, though no further information had been immediately released as of Tuesday evening. The circumstances of how the crash occurred have not been disclosed.
Not the First ATV Emergency Flight in Anne Arundel County
Tuesday's crash is not the first time an ATV incident in the county has sent riders to a trauma center by air. In April 2020, two people were flown to University of Maryland Shock Trauma after a crash in Davidsonville involving two ATVs, as reported by Capital Gazette. That crash, which involved four people total, sent a 25-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, while the other two people involved were not hurt badly enough to require transport.
Another Anne Arundel County incident, in Lothian in November 2022, involved a car rather than a second ATV. A southbound 2017 Honda Civic struck an ATV crossing the road, according to TheBayNet, and the 16-year-old driving the ATV suffered life-threatening injuries and was flown to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. The Honda's driver was not injured, and the county's Traffic Safety Section investigated that crash.
Federal Data Points to Rising Risk for Young Riders
The pattern of young riders suffering severe injuries in ATV crashes is reflected in federal safety data. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported a 31% increase in deaths to children under age 16 in its annual report on ATVs and side-by-sides, a trend flagged in a statement from the agency. The commission's broader annual report on off-highway vehicles also notes that all ATVs, ROVs, and UTVs currently in use are four-wheeled vehicles, underscoring how common these machines remain on roads and private properties across the country.
For now, the extent of what happened in Pasadena on Tuesday remains limited to the basic details released by fire officials. No updates on the boys' conditions or the cause of the crash had surfaced as investigators continued their work.
