UPDATE: Man & teen nephew critically injured after ATV crashes into vehicle in Riverside

UPDATED: Sunday, Aug. 8, 10 a.m., With details related to similar fatal off-road related accident.

Originally Published: Friday, Aug. 6, 11 a.m.

RIVERSIDE, Calif., — Authorities say a man and his 16-year-old nephew were critically injured when an off-road ATV they were illegally riding on city streets collided with a passenger vehicle in Riverside Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 4.

The 30-year-old operator of the ATV, who was not wearing a helmet when the accident occurred, and his nephew remain hospitalized since the crash; which happened at the intersection of Columbia Avenue and Orange Street. The other involved driver suffered minor injuries in the collision and was also hospitalized after the accident.

Wednesday’s critical injury ATV crash was followed two days later by another off-road vehicle related accident involving a Jeep that overturned into a ravine while attempting to negotiate the terrain along a steep ridgeline. The Jeep’s 52-year-old driver was killed at the scene, while his wife and ten-year-old son were both critically injured and were both airlifted from the scene. Both remain hospitalized with potentially life-threatening injuries.

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City of Riverside police and fire personnel were dispatched to the scene just before 3 p.m. after the City’s Public Safety Communications Center received multiple 911 calls reporting a traffic collision involving a passenger vehicle and off-road ATV, Riverside PD has since reported.

A man and his teenage nephew were critically injured after crashing into a passenger vehicle while illegally riding an off-road ATV on city streets in Riverside. RPD photo

“The preliminary investigation revealed a 2019 Yamaha YFZ ATV was being driven by a 30-year-old male adult with his 16-year-old nephew as passenger, traveling east on Columbia Avenue toward Orange Street,” said RPD. “He continued into the intersection on a red signal light and was struck by a gray 2014 Honda CRV being driven by a 65-year-old man who was entering on a green signal light.”

“The ATV rider and his juvenile passenger were ejected, and the adult rider was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision,” RPD continued. “Both were taken to a local hospital in critical condition.”

At this time, drug and/or alcohol intoxication are not believed to have been contributing factors in the collision and Riverside PD’s investigation is continuing.

SEE RELATED: Father killed, wife and young child critically injured, after off-road rollover crash in Riverside

In the wake of Wednesday’s accident, officials said they have recently experienced a significant increase in off-road vehicles such as ATV’s, quads, side-by-sides, Razrs, and dirt bikes being unlawfully operated on city streets and within the Santa Ana River bottom area.

“In the past month, there have been three traffic collisions involving off-road vehicles that have left their operators or passengers with major injuries, including one who died as a result,” department officials explained. Sadly, a solo-vehicle crash two days later added another death and two more critical injuries to those numbers, including a ten-year-old child who remains hospitalized in critical condition.

“The Riverside Police Department would like to remind those with off-road vehicles that it is illegal and punishable by fine to operate them anywhere within the city of Riverside,” officials continued; adding, “This includes open hills and dirt areas, streets, and highways.”

“Additionally, vehicles of any kind are prohibited in the Santa Ana River bottom unless by authorization of the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, and no vehicles other than bicycles are allowed on the adjacent Santa Ana River bike path,” said officials.

SEE OTHER SIMILAR INCIDENTS INVOLVING ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE CRASHES ON RIVCO CITY STREETS:

Teen on ATV dies after running red light, hit by pickup

Fleeing minor crash, man fatally hits teen on quad, flees again

Teen ID’d after deadly off-road vehicle crash on Perris city streets

Rider of off-road quad killed in collision with car on Jurupa Valley city streets

Wildomar local man identified after fatal ATV accident in residential neighborhood

Anyone with additional information regarding this traffic collision is urged to contact the Riverside Police Department’s Traffic Bureau at (951) 351-6099. To report off-road vehicles observed operating illegally in our city, please call the City of Riverside’s Call Center at 311, or (951) 826-5311 by landline. You can also utilize the Call Center’s mobile app or website at https://crmweb.riversideca.gov/ to report this illegal activity, or by calling the non-emergency number to our Public Safety Dispatch Center at (951) 354-2007.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.