A 15-year-old Sturgeon County girl was killed over the weekend in an ATV accident in Westlock County.
Ashton Parrish, who lived in the Redwater area and recently celebrated her Grade 9 graduation from école Citadelle in Legal, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident near Spruce Island Lake.
Two 14-year-old boys were also on the quad when it crashed and both remain in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Cpl. Sandra Milner with the Westlock RCMP said all three teens were on the vehicle and were wearing helmets when the accident took place.
"There were three of them on the quad and she was in the middle position."
One of the 14-year-old boys was transported via STARS to an Edmonton hospital, while the other was taken to the Westlock Healthcare Centre.
Milner said the RCMP had ruled out both alcohol and drugs as potential factors in the crash, but other causes were still being looked at.
"It is still under investigation."
No legislation
Alberta is one of only a handful of provinces with little legislation related to ATVs.
The only legislation around ATV use in Alberta is a requirement that drivers be over 14 years old if they are on public property.
Unlike other provinces, Alberta does not require helmet use or safety training.
In 2008, Transportation Minister Luke Oullette suggested the province would consider bringing in a bill requiring helmets.
Paul Oss, a spokesperson for the department, said the department studied the idea but it doesn't believe it would be enforceable.
"The dilemma is that most of these activities take place on private land and so we don't have the jurisdiction on private land."
He said the province has also considered other ideas including mandatory safety courses or higher age restrictions, but believes they would also be difficult to enforce.
He said when it comes to riders, weight is more important than age and increasing that age might miss the point.
"You could have a 16-year-old who is 90 pounds or a 14-year-old who is 150 pounds, so age is not necessarily the best determinant of who should be driving it."
Oss said the department wants to focus on educating the public through riding associations and even through a school program that will be available to teachers starting next year.
He said legislation isn't completely off the table, but it is not the primary focus.
"At this time we can't really determine if that is the best solution for this type of problem."
Jann Dyck, owner of Safety Now! a company offering several safety courses, including one for ATVs, said he is disheartened to hear of another tragedy and his heart goes out to the family.
He said rule number one for his students is to read the instructions and follow them.
"If people followed the manufacturer's instructions I would be out of business and I would be happy," he said. "Follow the warning stickers. They are not just decorations."
Dyck said they generally include directions not to carry a passenger and to wear a helmet. He said they also usually advise against having young people drive anything but the smallest vehicles.
He said he doesn't favour mandatory safety training or legislation for ATV riders, but would like to see the government do more to create awareness about how to use the vehicles safely.
