He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital with serious injuries, police said, but is expected to recover.
Neighbors who live on Sheridan Avenue near Ludlow where the Saturday night crash happened said it is not uncommon to see ATVs zooming through their streets.
“At least once a week we’ll see one in the neighborhood going around,” said Roger Howard, of Springfield. “I wish they’d use them for where they’re supposed to be.”
The all-terrain vehicles drive on the streets and through alleyways, he said.
It is illegal to ride ATVs on city roads, said Sgt. Brett Bauer, except for in designated circumstances such as a parade. Police receive many calls about ATVs, dirt bikes and other illegal recreational vehicles in neighborhoods, he added.
“We get complaints all the time about people riding their ATVs in the city and across sidewalks,” Bauer said.
Many riders in the area don’t know there are nearby outdoor riding parks where they can run their ATVs, said Dave Bush, manager at Competition Accessories, which sells ATVs and other like vehicles.
Hayslett was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, police said. That might have saved him from having more life-threatening injuries, Bush added.
“You never know what’s going to happen and you should definitely wear a helmet,” Bush said. “You only get one head.”
ATVs are illegal for street use because they lack many safety features to protect drivers from other vehicles on roadways, Bauer said.
“Most of these vehicles are not sold for the purposes of driving them on the roadway, so they’re not equipped with the proper safety equipment — headlights, taillights — the things that might keep you a little more safe,” he said.
Officers responded to the crash Saturday around 8:45 p.m., Bauer said, and the ATV Hayslett was riding had no lights.
“There may have been a reflector on one side of the vehicle, but it was not equipped with any lights at all,” he said.
The crash is still under investigation, but Hayslett will likely be charged for riding an ATV on the street, police said.
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