Illinois teen dies, cousin injured after ATVs flip at Michigan dunes

Two 13-year-old cousins from Illinois were riding ATVs at a high speed when the vehicles went over a steep incline on the dunes and both quads flipped.

Chicago Journal / Associated Press

11 Oct 2021 — 1 min read

MEARS, Mich. (AP) — A 13-year-old teenager has died after an all-terrain vehicle crash at sand dunes in northern Michigan, authorities said.

Another 13-year-old was injured Sunday in the same incident at Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Oceana County. The two were cousins from Illinois.

The teens were riding ATVs at a high speed when the vehicles went over a steep incline on the dunes and both quads flipped, Sheriff Craig Mast told WZZM-TV.

According to reporting from the Grand Haven Tribune, one of the boys was pronounced dead at the scene. The second sustained serious injuries and was transported to Mercy Hospital in Muskegon by ambulance.^[1]

The identities of the children are not yet released.

The dunes, 75 miles north of Grand Rapids, are a popular place for ATVs, Jeeps and other off-road vehicles. Sheriff Mast said this is the first fatality at Silver Lake Sand Dunes this season.

Notes & References

Wzzm-Tv. “One Teen Killed, Another Seriously Injured after Four-Wheeler Accident at Silver Lake Sand Dunes.” Grand Haven Tribune, October 10, 2021. https://www.grandhaventribune.com/news/local/one-teen-killed-another-seriously-injured-after-four-wheeler-accident-at-silver-lake-sand-dunes/article_d7b40b74-2a1d-11ec-aac0-37b825f8a435.html. ↩︎

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