Bail set at $10,000 in ATV hit-and-run

Noblesville teen's injuries in hit-and-run incident are part of rise in ATV injuries in U.S.

Rosalyn Demaree

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. -- A national rise in ATV injuries and deaths has become personal in northern Hamilton County.

An Arcadia teenager fought Tuesday to overcome critical injuries as the Cicero man accused of driving the van that struck his all-terrain vehicle on a rural road early Saturday went to court to face three felony charges.

Benjamin Lacey, 37, is in the Hamilton County Jail, charged with leaving the scene of a personal-injury accident and obstruction of justice. Bond was set at $10,000.

Lacey told officers he didn't have any memory of the crash because he was too intoxicated Saturday. He was arrested without incident Monday night at his home.

Police think that Lacey's 1985 brown Dodge Ramcharger SUV struck Logan Puski, 17, at 12:45 a.m. Saturday while Puski was riding his ATV on 256th Street near Devaney Road, a rural area of northern Hamilton County.

Methodist Hospital listed him in serious but stable condition Tuesday afternoon. He was reported to have internal injuries and a broken vertebra.

The boy's grandfather, Clarence Webb, said the accident happened as a night of hanging out and riding four-wheelers with friends was winding down. The group had been together across the street from the crash site.

Puski, who is "pretty rambunctious" and likes four-wheeling, Webb said, was driving his 2005 Yamaha Raptor Quad Runner west on 256th Street to a truck, where it was to be loaded.

Marylyn Webb, Clarence's wife, said her stepgrandson was wearing a helmet and a full suit of protective gear. He had been operating ATVs for three or four years.

Police say Lacey passed a vehicle another teen was driving behind Puski, then struck Puski's Raptor. That model has front and rear lights, but Vicky Dunbar, spokeswoman for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, did not know whether they were on or how fast anyone was driving.

According to Dunbar, ATV operators are allowed to drive in the easement along any street except limited-access roads "as long as there is sufficient room so they are not a traffic hazard." Trees lining the property that faced the accident site narrowed the easement area, she explained.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission tracks ATV-related injuries and fatalities. A report released in October estimates that injuries have grown in all age groups, from 10,100 in 1982 to 150,900 last year.

Mike Mount, spokesman for the ATV Safety Institute in California, points out that the number of ATVs and four-wheelers in use has grown, as well, from an estimated 2.7 million in 1997 to 8.6 million in 2006.

"So when you look at the number of injuries and deaths per 10,000 vehicles in use," he said, "the number (of people injured) goes down" over the years.

He is quick to point out, however, that ATVs are not designed to be ridden on public roads.

The institute works with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Mount said that one of the commission's statistics underscores the reason to keep ATVs off public roads: 92 percent of ATV fatalities occur when riders aren't wearing protective gear, aren't trained or are riding on public roads.

Source: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008811260395

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