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Side x Side rollover 3/22/14 - fatality


dunefreak
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More Signs?

Existing signage. 25 mi. an hour on entrance road, no fireworks, no pallets or nails,

no glass bottles, this area off limits etc. etc. How are they working?

Edited by sandawg
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The last thing we need is more regulation in this hobby. The ONLY law/regulation that will stop accidents like these will be to either close Dumont or make off road illegal. Most of us, as off road enthusiast, realize that our hobby puts us on the ragged, jagged edge at times. Some of us tempt fate and decide to not wear helmets, drink, etc. Sometimes fate bites you back and sometimes the price paid is the ultimate one. Its going to happen again and again.

I wasn't there and only know what happened based on this forum. As a former Banshee rider that has since gone to a SxS I learned a long time ago you need to have a very healthy respect for your riding area. I also think a lot of new SxS drivers think that since they have a seat belt and a cage, they are safe.

I feel for the family. Prayers for the passenger.

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My prayers go out to the family and friends of the driver and passenger. We also can not forget the first responders that showed up to help the injured.

I don't think we need law enforcement or big brother making any new rules, remember the helmet law. You can put up all the signs you want but I don't think it will change much. make good target practice. You can send everyone to OHV school for 8 hours to get a permit to ride a sxs but how do you regulate driver misjudging the dunes?

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"if" a sign were to be put in place i would think the best place for it would be right next to the automated pass machine since a lot of people that don't frequent dumont use that machine for their pass.

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"if" a sign were to be put in place i would think the best place for it would be right next to the automated pass machine since a lot of people that don't frequent dumont use that machine for their pass.

I agree...I don't think many people know it, but there are some nice information pamphlets at the info kiosk at the exit. They have laws, rules, hazards, etiquette, emergency info, etc... Even the DDR site is listed as a reference and as providing some of the info included in the pamphlet. BUT they are at the exit and how many people have stopped at that info kiosk?? I agree, that info should by the entrance and the ticket machines. I think those pamphlets could be mailed with and handed out with the season passes also. Still can't force people to read it...and in this specific instance, not sure how well anyone in this group could read English. There wasn't a pass in the window of the Jeep left at the Ranger station, so doubt any of them bought a pass or stopped at the info kiosk. Also, the little dunes info kiosk is at the entrance, it lists hazards, but didn't have the pamphlets. The info is there, just not many know about it or look for it, maybe it could be suggested to BLM to change the info kiosk area, so it is more accessible and obvious from the entrance side. Or it wouldn't be too complicated to add a little box at the pass machines to hold the existing pamphlets with a "take one" sign. Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk

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Our group was here at the time of this accident, I was at the creek with my wife and dogs when we saw the emergency vehicles roll up and the helicopter arrive.

Members of our group witnessed the accident and helped with collecting the scattered remains of the CanAm.

This was indeed a sad and tragic event!

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those involved and those that witnessed this tragic event.

I have always wondered why manufacturers dont build these units with better roll cages and even more so why they are not equipped with a minimum 4 point harness system.

In this accident I doubt that helmets would have saved anyone, and anything less than a race built cage would have stood up to this amount of force, but who knows, with helmets and a sturdy cage the occupants may have survived this crash with lesser injuries.

It would be nice if someone would put together a dune drivers safety course, I have never seen one offered here locally, maybe they do.

I know I would take advantage of one if I found it offered.

I ride the dunes very timidly especially when running solo, I feel better with a group especially when they have similar vehicles to mine, a Polaris RZR S.

I prefer to be 3rd or 4th in line so I can see that everyone else can make the runs and transitions.

This was a very sad event and I believe those involved may have been over confident with their abilities and their machines capabilities.

Every one needs to use some common sense and a sense of fear is a good thing to keep you alive.

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I'm biting my tongue on this one, there are no signs, warnings etc that need to be posted and no regulations that need to be implemented. Truly sad that someone passed so I will leave it at that.... My 2 cents....

Well said, even if there were those types of things its very possible that the situation would have played out the same. Prayers to all who are effected and envolved.

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Coroner Case #701402335: On 03/22/2014 at 1:45 PM, a 911 call was received reporting an all terrain vehicle (ATV) accident on the western face of Competition Hill at Dumont Dunes. Emergency medical personnel responded arriving at 2:00 PM. They found an occupant of a 2014 Can Am Commander, a 44 year old Chinese male resident of Los Angeles, dead at the scene. The other occupant was airlifted to a Las Vegas Hospital. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident. The name will be released when the next of kin is notified. [03222014 2201 CM] The family was notified that Hongwei Lu died as a result of his injuries.

Updated Coroner's report, now lists them as occupants instead of driver and passenger, so someone was able to get ahold of them to notify them of the mistake. The passenger had said his 1st name was Sergio.

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Stock cage or aftermarket cage, the argument could continue forever but the reality is that no amount of protection, signs, videos, warnings, etc. can or will suffice for every type of accident or Darwinesque move imaginable. Common sense must prevail. Thoughts and prayers to the friends, family and those involved in this lapse of judgement than can never be undone.

Unfortunately, we're our own worst enemies when it comes to incidents like these as big brother and others that know what's good for us are ready and willing to pounce and write new laws in an effort to curtail our freedoms to keep us all safe from everything imaginable.

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The only place that printed warnings might be read is on the pass backside maybe. The "should be" number 1 rule of duning is never drive in a straight line, the dunes look 2-D, flowing turns will look more 3-D. Any boxers here? Harder to judge a punch straight at you. I asked Roma (Dakkar winner) if he carved and turned through the course dunes in the Dakkar and he lit up and said yes, he was always turning and his navigator would remind him.

Pete, if the cage had not crumpled and they were wearing helmets, landing upside down likely would have caused basilar skull fractures without any HANS device and typical heavy consumer helmets. Ironic that a cage that doesn't collapse in this type of crash keeps the vehicle off the occupants but offers no deceleration and the abrupt stop is the terminal event. Remember the old stock cars that didn't crumple, easier to fix but needed a new driver. If anyone is considering an aftermarket roll cage you might want to ask if it's 4130, DOM, stress relieved etc and do some research, chromoly can hurt you, bend a straight piece into a u shape and if/when it fractures it can do a lot of damage to soft tissue. Not trying to talk you out of a new cage, just know what you are getting into, literally. And rest in peace to a duner who paid the highest price for the least amount of duning and his misfortune may save one of us with the wake up reality check that this kind of tragedy can bring.

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very sad for those involved and for those that witnessed it. bottom line you have to respect the dunes, and your capabilities. I sound like a broken record when newbies are along, I always tell them to surf the dunes never ever go straight up and over. when your going up hill and you know your not going to make it, pitch it around before you get stuck. and I never take a newbie into the steep dunes. I know we all know these technics, but hopefully someone that does not will read my post

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This incident was incredibly sad to witness. My husband, myself and two of our close friends were the first to arrive and there were many other concerned duners who rushed to help. Accumulatively, it was an amazing effort on everyone's part. It was heart breaking to see such a tragedy, and by two people who were so new to the sport. Supposedly, it was there first time out at Dumont and using this Commander. I don't know that helmets would've made a difference in this case, but it definitely could've helped keep the deceased's head together. I stabilized the passenger's C-spine until paramedics were ready to put him on the back board and get him off the hill into the emergency vehicle. There was nothing that could be done for the gentleman that lost his life. My husband and I left our Can Am Maverick for the highway patrolmen to use until they'd received instruction from the coroner to move the deceased to the ranger's station, at which point he was transported in the back of our Superduty. My husband helped the friend's of the deceased get the Commander off the hill and loaded onto their trailer. We stayed to help from beginning to the very end.

Someone previously stated that "manufacturers shouldn't be able to sell these things with such weak cages." This driver launched this sidexside over 30' in the air and landed upside down, 75' below where his tires left the sand... NO cage would hold up to that kind of impact. We purchased our Can Am because it has one of the top strength rated cages in the industry, and can personally vouch for that strength. My sidexside has been flipped on its top and rolled 3 times down a dune with no injuries sustained and less than $200 in plastics to look brand new.... The cage is strong and solid and was unaffected by our mishap.

Prayers to the family and friends of, as well as the deceased and Sergio, praying that he will walk again someday. We were all there for a reason that day and I am grateful that I was able to at least help Sergio for that time.

This horrific incident had nothing to do with Can Am making a weak cage, they were just novice duners. Thank The Lord no one else was hurt on the down side of that hill.

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Sandmam,

It was good to meet you all except for the circumstances. Hope to see you all out there again next season. Thanks for the dinner invite, sorry we didn't make it over.

These guys were lucky you all were there, you all went above and beyond!

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk

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Very sad; but unless toxicology reports indicate otherwise, an accident is just that, an accident.

No manufacturer is to blame. The state doesn't need a $1,000,000 safety sign campaign(that prolly wouldn't help), or any more wasted dollars in regulations and requirements.

Just pause for a moment and think about the families of the victims, and how their lives will be forever changed, regardless of the cause of the incident. Prayes for all involved.

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Has anyone heard if Sergio made it? I was trying to comfort the girlfriend of the the man that died. It was very hard due to she spoke Chinese. I was told to not let her go up and see him. She was taken to her car and left without seeing him. I keep wondering if that was the right thing to do? It was very sad. It was my third trip out.

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Has anyone heard if Sergio made it? I was trying to comfort the girlfriend of the the man that died. It was very hard due to she spoke Chinese. I was told to not let her go up and see him. She was taken to her car and left without seeing him. I keep wondering if that was the right thing to do? It was very sad. It was my third trip out.

I can only give you advice that I learned in trauma Intervention training, and that you did the right thing. She can remember him from the last time she saw him healthy without having to live with the nightmare of the damages he apparently recieved. You did the right thing. Thank you for being there with her. Although she may never be able to tell you I am sure she appreciated it and will always appreciate that you were there for her at that very bad time in her life.

Terry

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I have tried calling UMC and Baker EMS and FIRE, Neither of them will release information due to Hipaa laws. I was only looking for the survivors last name, with that information I could go to UMC and visit as a friend if the poor guy is even alive. I have seen things like this before but for some reason this has stuck and I can't get rid of it. I wish I new someone at UMC that could look up the ONLY Asian named Sergio that came in the trauma center on march 22nd at 3pm.

Edited by SAND~~SNAKE
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I have tried calling UMC and Baker EMS and FIRE, Neither of them will release information due to Hipaa laws. I was only looking for the survivors last name, with that information I could go to UMC and visit as a friend if the poor guy is even alive. I have seen things like this before but for some reason this has stuck and I can't get rid of it. I wish I new someone at UMC that could look up the ONLY Asian named Sergio that came in the trauma center on march 22nd at 3pm.

Hi everyone, I am a friend of Sergio. He is still in the UMC hospital, ICU suite. The doctor said he is mostly concerned about Sergio's spinal cord which was badly hurt by the fractures of the bone. Besides that, the neck, arm and face need some surgeries, but are less serious than the back. Doc also said his life is saved, but may be disabled for the rest of his life.

I feel so bad for Sergio, I was so shocked when I heard this tragedy. Pray he can recover and get back to his life. Thank you all for taking care of him and saving his life at the scene, especially Sandmam. I can't imagine what would happen if nobody is around.

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Hi everyone, I am a friend of Sergio. He is still in the UMC hospital, ICU suite. The doctor said he is mostly concerned about Sergio's spinal cord which was badly hurt by the fractures of the bone. Besides that, the neck, arm and face need some surgeries, but are less serious than the back. Doc also said his life is saved, but may be disabled for the rest of his life.

I feel so bad for Sergio, I was so shocked when I heard this tragedy. Pray he can recover and get back to his life. Thank you all for taking care of him and saving his life at the scene, especially Sandmam. I can't imagine what would happen if nobody is around.

Check your messages, Please!

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NONE of these units, Rhino, RZR, Commander* etc come with roll cages. These are equipped with ROPS (Roll over protection systems) and are meant to help you if you ever tip it over trail riding or on your ranch. Don't confuse the two, nor should you blame it on the manufacture for failures like this...Simply not designed for it. Just because its got a big engine and good suspension doesn't mean its an extreme vehicle.

Very very sad to hear of the loss of life, Please be carefull out there. We all know that dunes can creep up on you quick, very easy to get in over your head. Especially with four wheels and a steering wheel.

Edited by johnymatic
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Hi everyone, I am a friend of Sergio. He is still in the UMC hospital, ICU suite. The doctor said he is mostly concerned about Sergio's spinal cord which was badly hurt by the fractures of the bone. Besides that, the neck, arm and face need some surgeries, but are less serious than the back. Doc also said his life is saved, but may be disabled for the rest of his life.

I feel so bad for Sergio, I was so shocked when I heard this tragedy. Pray he can recover and get back to his life. Thank you all for taking care of him and saving his life at the scene, especially Sandmam. I can't imagine what would happen if nobody is around.

An update on Sergio's condition:

We called the hospital yesterday, the nurse said Sergio is recovering nicely, he can respond to the nurse when he was awake; they are in the progress of trying to remove the aspirator, although it may take several more days. He had a successful surgery on the arm yesterday. We are praying for the miracle that he will be able to walk in the future.

Thanks for everyone's attention and care for Sergio. I will keep updating his condition when I hear something new.

Sean

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