Bluefield, WV :A North Carolina man was killed in an ATV accident at Mercer County on Saturday, April 16th, 2016

A North Carolina man was killed in an ATV accident Saturday on the Pocahontas system of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails in Mercer County.

Officer J.D. Gills with the state Division of Natural Resources said the victim was identified as Robert Mahoney, 65, of Newton, N.C.

The accident occurred at about 1 p.m. Saturday, he said, when the victim was attempting a hill climb on trail 82, one of the more “aggressive” trails, which have a higher degree of difficulty.

“The front of his ATV struck a rock as he was climbing and it flipped the ATV backwards, rolling several times onto the rider,” he said. “The trail he was on was a ‘black’ trail,” the color that designates the most difficult challenges.

Gills said the victim was an experienced rider and with a group. He was wearing all safety gear, including a helmet, and there was no alcohol involved.

“This is one of those things that just happens from time to time,” he said. “Even with experience riding and the safety equipment on, he was killed.”

Gills said the injuries were to his head.

Jeffery Lusk, executive director of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails Authority, said the trails are operated as safely as possible.

“It is something that is terrible and we do all we can to operate the safest trail system in the country,” he said, but it does have some dangers. “We hate it, and our prayers go out to the family.”

Lusk said the Hatfield-McCoy Trails, which are about 700 miles of interconnected trails from Mercer County to Mingo County, has been open for 17 years and sold more than 300,000 permits to use the trail.

This is the fifth fatality on the trails.

“When you look at 300,000 permits and millions of miles ridden on the trails this is a very safe place to drive,” he said. “Safety is our number one priority. We post all of our rules and the most important thing to us is keeping the trails safe. We do everything we can to provide the safest trails in the country.”

Lusk said some of the previous fatalities were caused by a loss of control of the machine, adding that some of the trails are rugged and care must be used.

The use of alcohol, which is prohibited on the trails, has been a factor in a few accidents, he added.

"But the most common cause is loss of control, a momentary lapse, much like the cause of many traffic accidents,” he said.

Gills agreed that loss of control is the main problem, but sometimes it may be caused by something unforeseen.

He also said there have been other deaths near the trails as riders take what are called “outlaw trails.”

“There are a lot of old logging roads and coal roads in the same area of the trails but not actually part of the system,” he said, adding that other deaths have occurred on those outlaw trails.

Lusk said 81 percent of riders on the trails are from out of state and on vacation, and many come this time of year.

“April is our peak riding season,” he said, adding that between 3,000 and 4,000 riders may be on trails across the system at any time during April. October is the other busy month.

Almost all of the riders bring their own ATVs, he said.

The Hatfield-McCoy Trails systems are Rockhouse, Buffalo Mountain, Bearwallow, Indian Ridge, Pocahontas and Pinnacle Creek. The Pocahontas trailhead is in Bramwell.

The percentage breakdown of trails by difficulty rating in the Pocahontas system are: Easiest (Green) - 22 percent; More Difficult (Blue) - 47 percent; Most Difficult (Black) - 22 percent; Most Difficult (Red/Black) - 3 percent; and Single Track (Orange) - 6 percent.

Source :
Man dies in ATV accident