Updated
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
An 11-year-old girl is dead after an ATV driven by her step-sister flipped on a trail at a private campground near Salkum.
She was a passenger on the quad, and after it wrecked, the sister ran back to camp as much as a mile away to get help, according to responders.
It happened around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Cowlitz Timber Trails on the 1900 block of Spencer Road along the Cowlitz River, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said the 11-year-old driver said they had come to a sharp corner, and though they weren’t going very fast, she knew the ATV was going to flip and told her sister to jump. She didn’t jump and the ATV ended up on its side with the passenger’s head pinned beneath one tire, fender and rail, Brown said.
The 11-year-old driver ran back to the campground to get help and when a resident of the campground arrived to the victim, the child wasn’t breathing, according to Brown.
Both had been wearing helmets, Brown said.
Multiple members of Lewis County Fire District 8 responded to the 5:08 p.m. call to the scene, found adults performing CPR on the girl and took over, transporting her to Morton General Hospital.
Fire Chief Duran McDaniel said they called for airlift, while other responders retrieved the 11-year-old driver from the camp for her suspected injuries.
Both girls ended up at the Morton Hospital. Airlift wasn’t needed. Brown said the driver’s injuries were very minor.
The girls are from Graham, according to Brown.