18

ATC 110 in an area I was familiar with . I had been through that area before .

I was attempting to traverse a hill on the ATC . For some un known reason , unexpectedly the ATC took a dive to the right and sent me over an embankment head over heels . I landed on my shoulders and the back of my head . It caused a dislocation factor in the fifth and sixth vertebrae and injured my spinal cord and , as a result of that , I will be paralyzed the rest of my life .

Now , I didn ' t do anything with the ATC that the ATC wasn ' t meant to be ridden for . I was riding what I was meant to do , and for that , you know , I will never walk again . I did nothing out of the way .

Thank you . Mr . BARNARD . Mr . McKinley , I believe your accident occurred in 1979 . Mr . McKINLEY . Yes , it did .

Mr . BARNARD . How long had you been operating an ATV at that time ?

Mr . McKINLEY . Probably 5 weeks . Somewhere around 5 or 6 weeks .

Mr . BARNARD . A relatively new machine . Mr . McKINLEY . Yes .

Mr . BARNARD . Had you had any previous experience with an ATV ? One that belonged to someone else , a neighbor or something ?

Mr . McKINLEY . Just the one I was riding . It was a friend of mine ' s . I was riding it for about 5 or 6 weeks off and on .

Mr . BARNARD . In other words , you had been riding a single vehi cle before you bought yours ?

Mr . MCKINLEY . I didn ' t own the vehicle I was hurt on .

Mr . BARNARD . I see . Was there anything particular about the 110 ?

Mr . McKINLEY . Yes , sir .

Mr . BARNARD . Is there anything particular about the 110 ? I notice that Mrs . Vance ' s children were also riding on a 110 . Is it more powerful ?

Mr . McKINLEY . They make more powerful models , and they make , you know , lesser models .

Mr . BARNARD . Had you been operating the vehicle in the same consistent way ? Were you doing anything unusual the day that you had your accident ?

Mr . McKINLEY . No . Mr . BARNARD . Was it a normal driving experience ? Were you going uphill , downhill , or what ?

Mr . McKINLEY . I was going downhill , and the hill slanted to the right , from left to right . There was a slant from left to right on the hill .

Mr . BARNARD . In other words , you were going down in this direc tion and it overturned in that manner ?

Mr . McKINLEY . Yes . The bike started drifting on me and there was just no stopping it .

Mr . BARNARD . Mr . Abrams , how old are you ? Mr . ABRAMS . Fourteen . Mr . BARNARD . You are 14 . And when did your accident occur ? Mr . ABRAMS . May 27 , 1984 .