Linton boy riding four-wheeler hits vehicle

Monday, April 20, 2009

By Anna Rochelle, Staff Writer

A 12-year-old Linton boy riding a four-wheeler on a city street received minor injuries Saturday afternoon when he crashed into the side of another vehicle.

Arik B. Botsford was ejected off the four-wheeler and suffered contusions and bruises to his hip and upper leg that was non-incapacitating. He was transported by ambulance to Greene County General Hospital where he was reported to have bruises, cuts and road rash.

Linton Police Officer Debbie McDonald responded around 1:24 p.m. to the scene at the intersection of SE 6 St. and SE D St.

Botsford had been riding a yellow 1989 Suzuki four-wheeler westbound on SE D St. and had a stop sign at SE 6th St.

According to the police report, Botsford told the officer that he did not look before entering into the intersection and just pulled out into the roadway.

Botsford then ran into the front door on the driver's side of a blue four-door 2001 Buick Century that was southbound on SE 6th St. being driven by Gina R. Moss, 41, Linton.

Safety belts were in use in the Moss vehicle and she and a passenger were not injured.

Total property damage in the accident, which was witnessed by a nearby resident, was estimated between $1,000-$2,500.

The police report lists Botsford's disregard for the signal (stop sign) as the primary cause of the accident.

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a 12 year old should not be driving a 4 wheeler on the roadways. Its can do same kind of damage as a car!

-- Posted by dgeatches on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 8:53 AM
I hope the little kid is OK and learned something from this scary situation.

-- Posted by peaceloveandprayers on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 9:20 AM
He should be feeling lucky he didn't pull out just a second or two before and end up being hit by the car. Lets also hope our city officials don't use this as reason to try and ban 4-wheelers, he was already breaking the law, lets not create more.

-- Posted by viaductman on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 9:28 AM
Just like I was saying in a different topic... you take a situation where the boy was NOT seriously injured and everyone is quick to ask all the right questions. I do find it appalling that "viaductman"

main concern is stinking laws about four wheelers.

-- Posted by peaceloveandprayers on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 10:32 AM
If I am not mistaken, you have to be of driving age to ride a 4-wheeler on city streets of Linton.

Why did the parents allow him to ride on city streets? If they allowed this they broke the law.

-- Posted by fatty66 on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 10:47 AM
Here we go with all the BS about 4-wheelers not being allowed on the streets. It's sad that people would use a bad situation like this to promote there views! Yes there are people who don't obey the laws when riding, but there are a lot of us that do. This is the responsability of the parents or the owner of the 4-weeler that let this young man ride on the streets. It's just great that he wasn't hurt any worse than he was.

-- Posted by DougSchneck on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 11:01 AM
This is not a problem that is just for Linton. We have the same problem in Sandborn. I guess we have to have someone die before anything is done about it. Such a shame the parents don't get it.

-- Posted by JonMcKee on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 11:03 AM
Proud2Bfree, I am sorry to offend you. I am very happy the boy is safe and didn't have the worse case scenario of being hit by the car. I am just afraid that the powers that be will use this situation as a reason to make it illegal to ride on the road for everyone who does abide by the law. I am a proud 4-wheeler rider, follow all state/city laws and started primarily when gas was outrageous.

Also, anyonebutjonesformayor, please do not seek revenge on everyone who rides a 4-wheeler because a few bad apples get into the bunch. Instead why don't you push our local officials to use law enforcement to enforce the already standing laws and crack down on those breaking them, instead of hurting law abiding citizens.

And for the record, I am glad he is okay and hope he learned the reasoning behind the rules of the road.

-- Posted by viaductman on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 11:04 AM
I think if nothing else, it would be nice if we would ENFORCE the laws we currently have.

I bet if this _child_ and his parents had a few expensive tickets then this might not have happened.

I see four wheelers ALL THE TIME going above the speed limit, ignoring stop signs, and doing stupid tricks, yet I've never seen one pulled over.

Funny how doing the same thing in a car will get you busted.

--

In my opinion, the only reason a vehicle such as this should be on a road is so it can travel to a destination where it will be used off of a road (for farming, sports, or other things). If you want to use something to save on gas, get a moped. They're much cheaper, and will get double or triple the gas mileage (especially since some ATVs get worse gas mileage than most small cars).

-- Posted by per moenia urbis on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 12:36 PM
iam glad the city lets 4wheelers and golf carts run in town .the only thing is it should be side roads and must have a drivers license and insurance.

-- Posted by big miner on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 1:35 PM
Please correct me if I am wrong, but don't you have to have a drivers license to ride a four wheeler on the streets? I know a person with a suspended license (so essentially NO license as this 12 yr old had) that was ticketed for riding w/o a license. He can legally ride a scooter but not a 4-wheeler? Also isn't it illegal to ride a 4-wheeler on city streets correct? Was this boy ticketed for that as well as my friend was? Thank you for any help-

-- Posted by artsoap on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 2:08 PM
The topic here is "Linton boy riding four-wheeler hits vehicle" not "Community advocate for four wheeler rights because some kid hit a car on a FOUR WHEELER"

-- Posted by peaceloveandprayers on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 2:20 PM
What kind of parents allow a small child like a 12 year old to roam on busy streets with a 4-wheeler?

-- Posted by rant on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 4:36 PM
On a related note:

Today as I was driving home, I saw a man (25-35 years old) driving down H St NW on a 4-wheeler. He had a young female passenger (about elementary school age) on as well. Neither one of them had a helmet, nor did they follow any standard procedures such as hand signals.

JonMcKee is right. Someone will have to die before this changes.

I'm not going to volunteer myself or my children.

-- Posted by per moenia urbis on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 6:22 PM
Thank God, the boy wasn't seriously hurt! Heck, the things we did as kids probably would have made our parents head's spin. When you are young, you don't think about what could happen. The boy was being a boy. At that age you don't think you will ever get hurt. I remember some local "high profile individuals" in our little community doing some pretty risky things. Where were their parents? "I can honestly tell you not watching them 24-7." Man, the stories I could tell! Again, Thank God the boy is okay!

-- Posted by pickleonthesunset on Mon, Apr 20, 2009, at 8:06 PM
Four wheelers have no place on city streets especially at the hands of a 12 yr. old. Most cities you have to be at least 16 to drive a motorised vehicle. I have no problem with them on county roads, They are a source of cheap transportation for hunters, farmers, fishermen, and disabled outdoor enthusiast. Lets keep them for what they were made for, not a way to amuse our children on our city streets. But of course if i had one i probably would want to drive it around town too, but i wouldn't let a young kid do it. most kids, admit it act before they think.

-- Posted by dennisb1953 on Tue, Apr 21, 2009, at 9:18 AM
He wasn't even home, so why are some blaming his parents. He was at a friend's house. Instead of just pointing fingers, we ought to be glad that he wasn't hurt real bad. I am glad all he got were cuts and bruises, instead of broken bones. I am just thankful no one was hurt at all. Just remember we can't keep an eye on our kids 24/7. They will always do stuff, and get hurt whether we are there or not.

-- Posted by grumpylover29 on Tue, Apr 28, 2009, at 7:32 AM
Riding 4 wheelers around is alot smarter than riding in a car we need all the help we can get with the economy the way it is..... Parents should be more concerning when it comes to there children...its common sence KEEP THEM SAFE its not that hard!!!

-- Posted by victoriacase on Tue, Apr 28, 2009, at 10:45 PM
victoriacase:

Bicycles use MUCH less gas.

-- Posted by per moenia urbis on Wed, Apr 29, 2009, at 8:33 AM
Thank God he wasn't seriously hurt. It could have been a whole lot worse. He just needs to learn to be a little more careful next time, and look both ways before crossing. Boys will be boys.

-- Posted by 2momma27 on Wed, May 6, 2009, at 11:00 PM

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