We all have to make decisions in life but sometimes, those decisions will end up being regrets very quickly. Unfortunately, one father in Minnesota is regretting something to the extreme.
54-year-old Lance Alan Koeckeritz was looking after his daughter Savannah and her friend, Alexis Gibson. Both of those little girls were only 10 years old.
While they were in his care, they went for a ride on an ATV. Minors their age are allowed to operate ATVs, but they have a limit of a 110cc engine. The ATV they were operating had an 800cc engine.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reported that the two girls were operating the ATV and eventually, were crushed under the weight of the vehicle. When emergency workers arrived, they pronounced the girls dead on the scene.
An investigation was launched into what happened and Koeckeritz is now being charged with two counts of second degree manslaughter and child endangerment. He considers this to be ‘mind blowing.’
In an interview, he said: “We lost our daughter and her friend. It’s devastating. … The fact that the county prosecutor would even be contemplating charges is mind-blowing. Isn’t it enough that my other kids have lost our daughter due to a freak accident?”
The father also says that the ATV and its use were not out of the question for his daughter. Apparently, they have hundreds of hours on the four-wheelers and that is the way they all grew up, according to their father.
He described the cause of the accident, saying: “She was making a left-hand turn, and a wheel got caught in a divot. It was just unforeseen.”
Jennifer Koeckeritz was performing CPR along with another child on the two girls. First responders also worked on the girls but the children were pronounced dead on the scene.
The father was not supervising the girls on the ATVs when the accident occurred. His wife was working and she returned home at 4:15 and got concerned when she couldn’t find the girls.
Another child at the home found the girls crushed under the vehicle, neither of which were wearing protective gear. With a full tank of gas, the ATV weighs about 1000 pounds.
