| A 20-year-old man was injured yesterday in Ceredo when he lost control of his ATV and struck a tree, shortly after attending the burial of a Wayne County man killed Saturday in an ATV accident.
The funeral was for Dustin Phillips, 21, whose ATV struck a tree.
Jimmy Spry, the driver of the ATV, and Dustin Phillip's sister, Maggan Phillips, left the funeral on an ATV when the crash happened.
Spry was taken to a Huntington hospital where he was listed in fair condition. Phillips did not require hospitalization.
Clinton Burley, a spokesman for the Ceredo Volunteer Fire Department, said several ATV riders attended the funeral. The latest victims were not wearing helmets.
"Throughout the Appalachian region, an increasing number of people are injured or losing their lives on ATVs," Burley said. "Unfortunately, the regulations in effect now have not resulted in an increase in the number of people wearing helmets and riding alone on ATVs."
West Virginia's ATV safety law, which went into effect last year, bans the use of the vehicles on paved roads with center lines, although there is leeway, and allows ATVs on all other state roads.
It requires helmets and a safety course for riders under the age of 18. The law also bars riders from carrying passengers without a driver's license, although the manufacturers say the ATVs should not be ridden on blacktop roads or with a passenger, saying they are much too unstable.
WV is looking at a record number of ATV deaths in 2005.
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