A 5 year old needs YOUR help.

[ktmracer]

* CONNER FEEHAN FAMILY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT
5 year old, was in a horrible accident on a 50cc Suzuki, when he was on a AMA practice track for his very first time ever onJuly 7th 2002. He suffered severe brain injury and a spinal cord injury. Please come and meet him at www.connorfeehan.com and if you
could help spread the word throughout the Motocross community we would greatly appreciate it. Motocrossers take care of their own.

Thank you, The Connor Feehan Family

I wasn't real sure if this has been posted before, but his website showed only 24 hits since december. so, i figured that it hadn't. very sad story

will

 

[IrishEKU]

Will,

Your link isn't working or the site is down, Im sorry to here of a little kid having an injury like that.

 

[ktmracer]

i couldn't get the link to work either. but, if you just type in www.connorfeehan.com it should work. i have been able to access the site yesterday and this morning.

 

[Wanabe]

That is a sad thing to happen to such a young kid

BTW there is a comma at the end of your link that's messing it up

 

[Camstyn]

Thank you for the link, I hadn't heard about it until now. :thumb:

 

[Patman]

Yup it's been through here before, I think right about 3 weeks before Christmas or so but don't hold me to the time line. It's a VERY unfortunate thing that happened to the little guy. Now the part were I come across like a jerk. Why was he riding on a track with adults and adults on quads? For me a kid that's just figuring out how to ride and is on a tiny bike like the JR50 does not need to be on an open practice track. Jeez put a orange flag on the little bike at the VERY least. PLEASE don't take what I'm posting as being negative towards the little boy, he didn't know the situation he was in but with dad AND mom watching on shouldn't they have considered it. It's my understanding that the person that struck him was just devistated which is understandable but in all honesty I can't really place blame on them. It's sort of hard to fault the track owner either as they have to make certian assumptions that the children in your care are your responsibility and you should be aware of the potential danger around them. I know it's sort of preaching after the fact but as a dad there is no way I'd ever consider exposing my child to that type of situation. Either arrange for a closed practive for the little guys or just find another place. Maybe I'm over-protective, but no matter how ya' slice it this is a real sad thing.

 

[Camstyn]

At my local track they let the little guys out with their parents at the same time, if both ride. They are allowed to be accompanied by an adult.. Of course, the adults are supposed to stay beside their child, and not skying it out over the jumps. You get the odd person who thinks it's open track and cuts out from the pits, since there is no gate, just an opening.

 

[Smit-Dog]

This story, heard over and over again, just sickens me, especially since it was a little kid. Hindsight is not going to bring this kid back, and the foresight appeared to be servely lacking.

It's obvious that we can't always count on the parents to use good judgement, so I'm for the track owners forbidding this practice of putting adults and kids on the same track at the same time. Maybe more people should speak up when they see potentially dangerous situations like this. Other adults, riders, spectators, etc. could have spoke up. Perhaps the track owner never heard anyone voice any concern, so figured he'd just let it slide.

I wonder who the next unsuspecting 6-year-old will be that gets crushed by a 250, all while adults watch in horror...

:(

 

[Jackpiner57]

Very sorry to hear about the little boy. I hope he will recover.

 

[ktmracer]

Patman: why don't you check the link out for the answer to your question. It seems that he was riding in a group of 12 kids on the track.

will

 

[Smit-Dog]

Originally posted by ktmracer
Patman: why don't you check the link out for the answer to your question. It seems that he was riding in a group of 12 kids on the track.

Then why was there an adult on the track jumping on a quad?

If it was limited to just kids/bikes/abilities of all the same age/size/skill level, I doubt that the little kid would have been crushed by an adult on a quad. He was hit in the back of the head by the quad's tire, and thrown about 15 feet. Knocked his motocross boots clean off the kid. The quad hit him while the quad was in mid-air.

:|

 

[MikeT]

Sad.....

 

[Patman]

ktmracer, I've read the entire site a few times. I've also checked with some folks that have direct knowledge of the situation. The bottom line is that he was allowed to be placed into an unsafe situation and the results were very bad. Sure there's lots of "what if" things that are available after the fact but as has been highlighted by people trying to sue fast food places for making them fat or any of the other stupidity that's allowed to enter our courts this is just another example of people not wanting to recognize responsibility for their actions. Would anybody think twice about letting their toddler old play with the kitchen knives? What about crawling on the 2nd floor railing at the mall? Play catch with lawn darts? Then why let a newbie rider on a bike that's not even 2 feet high ride on a track during an open practice? So there were 12 other kids that maybe should have not been there either, does that make it OK to expose the kid to it? This is not the first situation like this to happen, if it happens once it's too many times. It happens with too much frequency, for it to be a suprise to anybody that rides. The facts are that if you ride you will at some point ge injured. If you are a parent you need to also recognize this for your child if they are very young because they don't understand that it's not like a Road Runner cartoon (<-- when my son was 4 wanted to crash into a wood fence AGAIN because he got off uninjuered the first time!). I wish there was a pre-ride checklist people were forced to follow before their bike would start.
Something like:
-Protective gear
-Health insurance
-Review safety of riding area
.
.
.
.
-Have fun

See I knew I'd come across as a jerk on this deal but I feel strongly about these types of issues. PLEASE if your compelled to send these folks a note of support, a good thought or even money do it! Just please don't let it happen to another if you can help it. Point it out if you think the people don't get it, sometimes the excitement masks the true danger to those involved.

 

[Erick82]

Very sad indeed.

Heck I ride a 250 and try to stay away from them quads when I ride open practice tracks. The place I ride has a seperate small track for little little kids.

 

[bigred455]

Pulling for you Conner! :thumb:

 

[ktmracer]

patman, i do not think you are coming off as a jerk. and i agree that there are measures that could have been taken to prevent this type of accident. and if what you wrote opens other parents eyes, then good. the main reason i posted this link was to make people aware of a 5 year old (and his parents) that needs help. (money, prayer, ect)

will

 

[Roost165]

Scary thing I ride the same track and I have nearly hit kids riding in a group on a track on my bike. I try to be as careful as possible but I can't honestly say that I check jumps before i go over them. When i'm on the track i'm going all out and usually i'll see other riders way before i encounter them. The thing about the track that this happened at is it is a very safe track. The jumps are not big and very few of them are blind jumps. I think all track should have a mandatory mini bike track.

 

[Patman]

Maybe just defined mini practices. Broken into classes even like 60cc and under, 62cc - 85cc. It would e nice to have mini tracks everywhere but sometimes it's not an option so giving them 30 to 60 minutes every few hours might be a reasonable solution. Nothing can take the place of parental common sense though, sure the kid might be upset but it sure beats the alternative.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

I had to stop a guy who was riding his 3 year old around on the peewee track this past weekend on an XR50. Neither of them had helmets. I told him that I knew his head was hard enough, but that he needed to put a helmet on the kid.

Even though TNT has 4 different tracks for different sizes and skill levels, every weekend someone will get on the wrong track.

 

[kbud]

It is very sad indeed. I agree Patman. I dont think you sounded like a jerk, sounded logical to me.

 

[ScottYZ250]

Wow, that is a sad story. I'm going to make a donation. I'd like to see that kid beat the odds...

 

[Chili]

That is a truly sad story. I know I was very paranoid at the start of last season when my son started to ride MX. He was a total beginner and anytime I allowed him on the track if there was any other bikes on the track I also rolled around 1 obstacle behind him on his line to make sure no one hit a jump and landed on him by accident.

 

[Green Horn]

Very sad. It's now Feb. and this kid is still doing rehab for an accident that happened in July. I totally agree with Patman. We talk quite often on this subject considering he has a boy that rides, and I have a boy who will eventually ride.

 

[Rattletrap'83CR480]

Once again Patman, you are a beacon of common sense in a senseless world. The little ones should never, never, never be put into a situation where this sort of thing even has a remote possibility of occurring. I feel extremely bad for the little guy and I'm sure that his parents question their decision to let him ride 24/7. I hope he is able to recover quickly and with a minimum of problems and no lasting damage. Take care little guy, I'm pulling for you.

RatTrap

(Concerned Dad)

 

[TMax]

We have raced at many tracks... Some are neat and organized, some are a free for all.

For two years I ran the mini and quad track at Kenworthy's. Practice was always by class (4 str quads, 80s, 50s, 60s then 2str quads). There was a reason... Don Kenworthy LOVES to soak the track. Less watering, more racing. The 4 strokers would fling the mud... 80s usually did well in the mud and by the time the 60s and 50s were on the track there were good lines and ruts. The two strokers would then "smooth" the track back out and you were ready to race.

Now, Kenworthy's never runs an "open practice". And, only the last race of the year do they run the mini jrs (80cc 7 to 11) on the big track. Several other tracks that we frequently went for "open practice" would run 50s through 80 beginners for 30 minutes then 80s "advanced" through open for an hour. It worked well. But, we would NEVER attend an open practice (more than once) that was a free for all.

So what is my point... If you are under 18 you have a parent with you. That parent should be held fully accountable for the minor's riding ability and safety. If the practice is not organized, or they are running 50s with the big boys and quads, the parent should pack their kid and go elsewhere.

When my Tyler was on 60s, I liked to see him run with the bigger bikes. Had he been hurt, it would have been my fault, not the track owners.


TMax