Children run over by off-road vehicle escape serious injury

LORRAINE — Two children escaped without any broken bones Sunday afternoon when a driverless 1,500-pound Arctic Cat Prowler came to a stop on top of them, the mother of one child said Tuesday.

"They were so lucky," said Amber Zehr, Adams Center. "The machine is like an off-road golf cart. It looks like a truck."

Mrs. Zehr said one of the vehicle's tires was resting on her niece, Mackenzie J. Wagoner, 5, and the machine also was pinning one of her son's legs. The boy, Skiler R. Gutierrez, also 5, and Mackenzie suffered only bruises, she said, and were treated at Samaritan Medical Center, Watertown.

They were at a family home in a wooded area off County Route 95, where they were using the ATV to haul wood, Mrs. Zehr said. Her daughter, less than 2 years old, had been secured by a lap belt in the passenger seat, riding with her aunt, Tricia Johnson, minutes before the accident, she said.

After Ms. Johnson parked the rig, the girl, name not provided, stood up and stepped over to the driver's seat. In doing so, she may have nudged the stick shift, state police suspected.

The Prowler, which was on a hill, rolled backward, knocking down and landing on the two 5-year-olds, she said.

Her husband, Jeffrey, was near the machine, but had his back to it at the moment of the accident, she said. He raised the machine so that Mrs. Zehr could pull out the two children, she said.

Mrs. Zehr called for South Jefferson Ambulance, and then, to avoid a wait, Mr. Zehr drove the two in his vehicle and met the ambulance at a residence, she said.