The driver of a four-wheeler was killed Christmas Day when he tried to pass a vehicle and ran head-on into an Atlanta fire engine.
The engine was on the way to a fire call when the two vehicles collided at the intersection of Sylvan Road and Dill Avenue in southwest Atlanta, according to Atlanta police. When officers arrived at the scene just before 6 p.m., the man was unconscious.
Crews on the fire engine tried to perform first aid before the rider, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a safety helmet, police said.
Authorities have battled against the illegal use of all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes on city streets, which can often prove dangerous to their riders and other vehicles on the roads.
On multiple occasions in recent years, hundreds of riders have swarmed city streets at once, popping wheelies and weaving in and out of traffic. Eleven were arrested during a crackdown in 2018.
RELATED: Teens among 11 arrested during illegal ATV, dirt bike riding sting on Atlanta roads
Police made three more arrests earlier this year and impounded several vehicles after an apparently coordinated ride through northwest Atlanta. At least one ATV rider was taken to a hospital after colliding with a car.
MORE: Arrests made after ATV riders crowd Atlanta streets
After an investigation into Wednesday’s crash, police determined the fire engine was traveling West on Dill Avenue with its lights and sirens activated. The four-wheeler was going east on Dill before crossing into the westbound lanes.
“The four-wheeler came from around a car, and that's when the collision happened,” Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Dwyane Johnson told Channel 2 Action News from the scene.
The three firefighters on the truck were responding to a report of a working fire on Alison Court, he said.
“No physical harm to any of our firefighters,” Johnson said. “Emotionally, we're going to bring a team out and make that assessment.”
The deadly collision remains under investigation.
About 650 people are killed each year and another 100,000 are injured in crashes involving ATVs, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Georgia ranks 12th for most ATV deaths reported between 1982 and 2016, and in recent years, fatal wrecks happened on paved roads, the commission reported.
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