12-year-old dies in Randolph County ATV accident
The Missouri Highway Patrol has identified the Huntsville boy who was killed in Friday morning’s ATV accident as 12-year-old Joey Fifer. Troopers say the accident happened around 9:50 Friday morning on private property on County Road 1240, about three miles northeast of Huntsville.
The Patrol says Fifer was backing an ATV southbound when he struck a wood pile, causing the ATV to overturn. Troopers say Fifer was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene by Randolph County Coroner Gerald Luntsford.
One of Joey’s uncle told ABC 17, “He’d been riding little motorcycles and and ATVs as long as he’d been able to reach the throttle.”
That uncle also said Joey lived with his mother and older sister in Huntsville and believes the home where the accident happened on County Road 1240 might belong to a family friend.
Several family friends and other members of the community say they knew the family well but declined to make an official comment out of respect for the family.
Randolph County Sheriff Mark Nichols tells ABC 17 News the Missouri Highway Patrol and Randolph County Sheriff’s deputies investigated the accident. An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow.
Missouri law states that all riders must be at least 16 years old to drive an ATV unsupervised unless they are on the property owned by a parent or legal guardian, and they must wear a helmet if they are under the age of 18.
