Springfield,IL : Christian County middle schooler injured in ATV crash on January, Saturday 20th 2018

A Central A&M seventh-grader was taken to HSHS St. John’s Hospital by helicopter following an all-terrain vehicle crash in rural Assumption Saturday, the Christian County Sheriff’s Office said.

The boy was a passenger on the ATV, which was occupied by two other Central A&M seventh-graders.

A GoFundMe page identified the seriously injured youth as Logan Virden. The page indicated that Virden had emergency surgery to release pressure on his brain and he remained in a drug-induced coma.

A posting on Central A&M Middle School’s Facebook page indicated the two other boys were Tucker Long and Will Thompson.

“Raider Nation, we need your prayers and good thoughts for Logan Virden, Tucker Long, Will Thompson and their families. ... We are one big family, and when one of is hurting, we all hurt,” the Facebook post said.

The crash occurred about 3:15 p.m. as the ATV was heading north on Township Road 2400 East, about a quarter-mile south of Township Road 1400 North, a press release from the Christian County Sheriff’s Office said.

The ATV appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway and headed into a ditch on the west side of the road. The ATV traveled about 250 feet in the ditch, flipped over several times and eventually came to rest upside down, the press release added.

All three boys were taken by ambulance to Taylorville Memorial Hospital.

Christian County Sheriff Bruce Kettelkamp declined to identify the boys, but said the two children not taken to St. John’s have been released from Taylorville Memorial Hospital.


Kettelkamp said the parents of one of the three boys owned the ATV and gave the kids permission to use the machine. The sheriff added the boys shouldn’t have been on the roadway and should have been wearing helmets. Also, all three should not have been on the ATV, and the particular model they were using was too powerful for children their age.

“We see too many ATV accidents, and usually, it’s because of recklessness or speed,” the sheriff said.

The investigation of the crash is ongoing by the Christian County Sheriff’s Office.

Source :
Christian County middle schooler injured in ATV crash