Pembina Valley RCMP lay charges after youths injured in ORV collision

June 28, 2022
Pembina Valley, Manitoba

News release

On June 15, 2022, a 29-year-old female was charged with three offences after her 13-year-old daughter and her six friends were in a collision involving an off-road vehicle. The seven females, all aged 13 and under, were riding together on the side-by-side ORV when they lost control on the gravel and the ORV rolled into the ditch, throwing all the riders.

A 13-year-old female was transported to Winnipeg hospital with serious injuries. A second 13-year-old female was transported to local hospital with minor physical injuries.

None of the female youths was wearing helmets or safety equipment.

The 29-year-old female was charged with: As the Owner, Permit an Unsupervised Person Under 14 years of age to Operate an ORV; As the Owner of an Unregistered ORV Permit It to Be Operated; Have More Passengers Than Allowed on ORV.

"We take these incidents extremely seriously," said Staff Sergeant Brent Mattice, Area Commander for Pembina Valley RCMP. "This could easily have been a much more tragic outcome. These machines are not for unsupervised children. They are not a toy. A fun ride can go bad quickly, as was the case here. The laws are there to keep people safe, and we are enforcing them."

In the last three years (2019-2021) in Manitoba RCMP jurisdiction, there have been 116 serious injury collisions involving all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, and utility-terrain vehicles. Of those, 18 were fatalities. There were more serious injury collisions and fatalities involving those types of vehicles than there were involving motorcycles (55/15). ATVs had the highest numbers at 76 serious injury collisions and 16 fatalities.

Safety tips to keep in mind:

  • All ORV operators and riders must wear properly fastened safety helmets unless the vehicle is equipped with rollover protection and the occupants are wearing securely fastened seatbelts.
  • ORVs are not to be operated on roadways, shoulders, medians of divided roadways, or sidewalks.
  • ORVs are permitted to be in the ditch, provided travel is in the same direction as vehicle traffic, the ORV is to the right of the roadway and the shoulder, and the ORV is being operated in an area where ORV use is permitted.
  • Always be on the lookout for hazards in the ditch, such as culverts, driveway approaches, and road signs.

Impaired driving laws apply to ALL motorized vehicles. Only operate an ORV when sober and alert.

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Contact information

Tara Seel, Media Relations Officer
RCMP Media Relations
204-983-8497

www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/mb
Twitter @rcmpmb | @GRCManitoba
http://www.facebook.com/rcmpmb | https://www.facebook.com/GRCManitoba

File number: 2022778772

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