An afternoon ride on an ATV turned tragic for two Gilboa teenagers last Tuesday afternoon in a deadly accident involving a fully loaded dump truck on Route 30.
Jeffrey Jones, 16, and Brittany Paes, 12, were pronounced dead at Margaretville hospital shortly after their ATV was hit by a Carver Sand and Gravel truck, said Schoharie County Sheriff Tony Desmond.
The teenagers were riding on an ATV at about 12:30pm last Tuesday in a field on the west side of Route 30 about a mile north of the intersection with Route 990V, the Sheriff said, when they were attempting to cross Route 30.
The ATV came out of the field right into the path of the truck, Sheriff Desmond said.
The truck was loaded with stone heading for the Gilboa dam restoration project.
The driver of the truck, who was not identified by police, had no way of avoiding the ATV, the Sheriff said.
The teenagers were ejected from the ATV. The boy, the driver of the ATV, was wearing a helmet but the girl was not, Sheriff Desmond said.
The teenagers were treated at the scene by personnel from the Grand Gorge and Roxbury fire and rescue squads and they were taken to Margaretville hospital.
No tickets have been issued in the accident, police said.
The State Police accident reconstruction team was on the scene of the accident. The truck will get a thorough commercial vehicle inspection and the ATV was taken to the Sheriff's office for inspection, the Sheriff said.
A "very thorough" report will be made on the accident, which closed Route 30 for about eight hours, Sheriff Desmond said.
"It's horrible," Gilboa Town Supervisor Tony VanGlad said.
"It was their first day of freedom for the summer and they have this accident."
People at the scene were hysterical and in shock, Sheriff Desmond said.
Many people at the scene were young and had not seen something like this before, he added.
The Sheriff had several bits of advice for ATV riders.
ATV riders need to wear helmets, drive safely, keep their vehicles under control and avoid doing stunts, he said.