Report: Teen thrown 52 feet in ATV crash

April 09--HIGH POINT -- A teen is facing several charges in connection with a crash last week where a four-wheeler slammed into the side of a car, sending two people to the hospital.

High Point police Officer Pete Abernethy said Alexis Studyvance Jr., 19, is charged with speeding, reckless driving, failure to register a motor vehicle, no liability insurance on a motor vehicle, failure to wear a N.C. Department of Transportation-approved helmet while operating an all-terrain vehicle and not having possession of an ATV safety course certificate. Police charged Studyvance Friday morning.

The crash happened just before 4:30 p.m. on March 30 on E. Green Drive near Hines Street and sent Studyvance and a 40-year-old woman, who was driving a 1989 Toyota Corolla, to the hospital with injuries.

According to the accident report, the woman was driving westbound on E. Green Drive, preparing to make a left turn onto Hines Street. She told police she didn't see any vehicles approaching and started to turn. The woman told police as she crossed the other lane of travel, she saw smoke from the tires of the four-wheeler Studyvance was driving and the four-wheeler skidding toward her. A witness told police he estimated Studyvance's speed to be at least 50 mph in the 35 mph zone.

The report states Studyvance's four-wheeler left 136 feet of skid marks on the roadway before he was thrown from the vehicle upon impact, landing 52 feet away from where the two vehicles collided. When Studyvance struck the car's passenger side, it also pushed the car 12 feet.

Studyvance was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem for a concussion. The woman was taken to High Point Regional with minor injuries.

Abernethy notes in the crash report that the four-wheeler was not street-legal.

"There are not headlamps, turn signals, safety inspections, the tires are not designed for on-road travel and were lacking tread, there are no mirrors, reflectors and no speedometer," he states in the report.

The woman told police four other dirt bikes were riding with Studyvance when the crash happened, but they left the scene. She said she was concerned for Studyvance following the crash because he wasn't wearing a helmet and she "became fearful when a gathering crowd became hostile."

The crash was the second in March involving a vehicle that isn't permitted on public roadways. On March 15, police responded to a crash involving a dirt bike and a Jeep at the intersection of E. Commerce Avenue and Evans Street. According to the accident report, the driver of the Jeep, Tyqunn Hinson, stopped at a stop sign and then proceeded through the intersection where a juvenile on a dirt bike collided with the back of his vehicle. Both Hinson and the juvenile were taken to the hospital for injuries. Hinson's injuries were from a crowd of bystanders who saw the crash, pulled him from his vehicle and beat him.

High Point police officer Justin Fleming, with the department's motorcycle unit, said police get a lot of complaints about juveniles speeding through neighborhoods on dirt bikes and four-wheelers, and not only are the vehicles not street legal, they're dangerous to take on public roadways.

"With these there are no gauges, lights, turn signals, brake lamps and things like that," he said. "But the biggest thing is the tires. These vehicles have more aggressive, knobby tires, and they don't grip well on the roadway like street tires do. They're not designed to be on pavement."

Another problem is the person operating the four-wheelers and dirt bikes, Fleming said.

"Another big factor is most of these instances they're juveniles and they're inexperienced with little to no riding experience, or even experience driving a car," he said. "They also tend to operate them at higher rates of speed through neighborhoods, and when that happens, you're going to have crashes."

When it comes to taking an off-road vehicle that isn't street legal onto public roadways, the charges can stack up pretty quickly, Fleming said.

"They can get charged with not having a motorcycle endorsement, then you can get into licensing infractions and registration violations, not wearing a proper helmet," he said. "The list could multiply pretty quickly with charges and infractions."

[email protected] -- 888-3601 -- @NatalieLStewart

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