Hayden mother, son injured in Memorial Day ATV crash
A Hayden mother was pinned under an ATV for about five minutes after a Memorial Day ride on Bunco Road. Her 11-year-old son was later airlifted to Seattle.
Sara Weiss was pinned under an ATV for about five minutes after a Memorial Day weekend ride on Bunco Road near mile marker 14 ended in a rollover, and her 11-year-old son Bentley was later airlifted to Seattle because of the severity of his leg injury.
Weiss said the family had been riding all weekend. She was on one quad with Bentley, while her sister-in-law and niece rode another. As the group came around a corner, Weiss faced a split-second choice between colliding with another rider and trying to avoid the crash. She steered away, struck a stump, brush got lodged in the ATV wheel well and the machine rolled into the bank.
Weiss lost consciousness in the rollover and later learned that the quad landed on Bentley’s leg before bouncing back onto her. After another family member moved the ATV, Weiss lifted Bentley, got back on the broken quad and drove about a mile and a half back to camp while trying to keep him alert and calm. The pair were taken to Kootenai Health, where the scale of the injuries became clear. Weiss said her own injuries included a radial break in her right shoulder, disc damage in her back and a knee injury that still needed imaging.
The family has now stocked helmets in multiple sizes. Idaho Code 49-666 requires riders under 18 to wear an approved safety helmet in most ATV settings. Riders should always wear helmets and other protective gear. Riders younger than 16 should use age-appropriate youth models and should not carry more passengers than seats allow. Preventing pediatric ATV deaths and injuries has remained difficult since ATVs were introduced in the mid-1970s.
On May 23, deputies responded to three separate ATV crashes on Forest Service Road 209 near Horsehaven Airstrip, including one involving a 17-year-old in critical condition who was flown to Kootenai Health. Another ATV crash in Kootenai County in September 2025 killed one person and injured another.
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