A 4-year-old boy drowned after the all-terrain vehicle he was driving alone overturned and pinned him under water in a creek on his family's land near Middletown, Md., according to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office.
Fordham Lee Poffenbarger had been playing with family members before he slipped away unnoticed and got on the 50cc Polaris Saturday evening. His family searched for him and found in the creek.
Family members performed CPR on the child until EMS personnel arrived. He was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital and then the University of Maryland Trauma Center. He died early Sunday.
Maryland law bars children 12 and younger from driving ATVs on state trails, but there are no restrictions on private land.
Although the ATV was designed for youths, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says children under 6 should never be on any ATV as either driver or passenger. A state task force recommended in 2008 that Maryland adopt such a provision.
