RURAL MANVEL, N.D. -- A 9-year-old boy riding an all-terrain vehicle was killed Tuesday in an accident in front of his house, according to North Dakota Highway Patrol Sgt. Aaron Hummel.
The boy was crossing 34th Avenue Northeast when he was hit by a Chevy pickup pulling a trailer.
Emergency workers applied chest compressions to the boy inside an ambulance but could not revive him. He wasn't wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
After the boy died, three people who appeared to be family members walked down the gravel road toward the ambulance holding hands. The group took turns going into the ambulance parked on the road's shoulder. They hugged one another and were comforted by emergency workers.
The boy's mother was on the scene; his father was not.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Everybody's pretty shaken up," Hummel said of the family.
The Highway Patrol did not give the boy's name, pending further notification of his family.
The boy had apparently been riding on an off-road track before he headed west across the gravel road and was struck by the southbound pickup, Hummel said.
The driver of the pickup, Douglas Slominski, 55, rural Manvel, was not injured.
The Highway Patrol was investigating the accident, Hummel said. Alcohol and drugs did not appear to be a factor in the crash, he said.
"At this time, we don't foresee any charges on it," he said. "But ... a case like this, we always have reviewed by the state's attorney office."
The pickup sustained heavy front-end damage, and the ATV was totaled. The ATV had rolled over and was almost in the ditch.
Authorities had a general idea of the driver's speed but would not release it.
ADVERTISEMENT
Others on the scene were Manvel First Responders, Altru Ambulance and the Grand Forks County Sheriff's Department.
The Grand Forks Herald and The Forum are both owned by Forum Communications co.