Child dies after being struck by ATV at Hutterite colony

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This article was published 30/08/2022 (1369 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A six-year-old boy is dead, and a community devastated, after an all-terrain vehicle collision at a Hutterite colony near Pilot Mound.

“He was such a bright, vibrant, energetic little boy,” said a spokeswoman from the Windy Bay Hutterite Colony. “He was just fun. He was so adorable.”

The child, who was born and raised in the colony, was riding his scooter Monday evening when he approached a blind intersection and was struck by a side-by-side ATV. Another 19-year-old male colony member was driving the vehicle, she said.

The man and child were relatives, said the woman, who asked not to be identified.

“There was no intent (or) any kind of criminal activity,” she said, stressing the incident was a tragic accident.

Windy Bay is home to about 80 people and is located 16 kilometres north of Pilot Mound.

The accident occurred on a gravel road that separates the residential and industrial areas of the colony. The road forms a T-shaped intersection near a large community warehouse, the woman said.

Colony members quickly responded after the accident, including the spokeswoman, who said she was the fifth person on the scene.

When she arrived, another resident, a trained nurse, was attempting to treat the child’s injuries, and police were on the way.

“She started working right away, and the driver was calling 911. He was panicking, so she was walking him (through it)… He was just completely distraught.”

Community members attempted to resuscitate the child by performing CPR and applying a defibrillator, she said.

The woman could not estimate how long they worked on the boy, but said when first responders arrived, it appeared he was already dead.

According to an RCMP news release, Pembina Valley officers responded to reports of the collision at 7:20 p.m. Monday. The child was taken to hospital in critical condition, where he later died.

The initial investigation suggests the boy was riding his scooter when he came around a blind corner, where he was struck by the ATV operated by a 19-year-old man. Local RCMP are still investigating the incident, police said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca