A 6-year-old boy sustained head injuries Tuesday afternoon when his all-terrain vehicle collided with a dirt bike at the intersection of Leigh Drive and Oak Mountain Road, just off Goodnight Road.
The child, Ruben Rubio, was taken to Rowan Regional Medical Center where he was then airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. The N.C. Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, which occurred before 5:30 p.m.
Trooper W.P. Efird said the child was traveling on Leigh Drive and made a U-turn in the roadway when a dirt bike, ridden by 33-year-old Samuel McBride of Albemarle, was traveling on Oak Mountain Road. The child nor the adult were wearing helmets the trooper said. No charges will be filed.
Neighbors say the child lived off Leigh Drive and frequently rode the ATV in the area, as do many of the other children in the neighborhood.
Neighbor Richard Bentley said he was asleep when the crash first occurred but awoke to fire trucks and an ambulance in front of his house. Bentley, who lives on Oak Mountain Road, said children play in the neighborhood and motorists drive fast on the road. He had a “Slow, Children Playing” sign posted in his front yard and on the side of his property. The signs were erected when his now 22-year-old daughter was four years old. He’s kept the signs posted because of all the children in the neighborhood, but doesn’t feel it motivates people to slow down.
Rowan County EMS and Locke Fire Department also responded.