Valencia County warns after rash of ATV and UTV crashes

Driving ATV and UTVs too fast, taking them onto roadways and skipping basic precautions were at the center of a string of Valencia County crashes that left riders badly hurt and two children hospitalized. One patient was flown from the Rio Puerco area with critical injuries, another went by ambulance with serious injuries, and the same day crews handled a separate ATV crash that sent two children to the hospital with multiple traumatic injuries.

Valencia County Sheriff’s Office deputies said they had seen several serious off-road incidents in the previous few days, enough to push out a public warning as summer recreation picked up. The message was plain: these vehicles can turn dangerous fast when riders push speed, leave the trail for the pavement or operate without the right protection.

For families in Los Lunas, Belen, Bosque Farms, Peralta and Rio Communities, the practical rules start with age and gear. Ride New Mexico says riders under 6 shall not operate an ATV or ROV on public land. Riders under 18 must wear a securely fastened helmet and protective eyewear, and New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division guidance says state law requires anyone under 18 to wear a safety helmet when operating or riding on a motorcycle or ATV.

The legal limits matter just as much as the equipment. New Mexico law allows some off-highway vehicle use on paved roads only under specific local-authority permissions and conditions, but crossings of streets and highways must begin only after a complete stop, with right of way yielded and the crossing made in the most direct, nearly perpendicular way. On public land, reckless, careless or negligent operation is illegal.

That leaves parents and other adults with a simple checkpoint before a child or teen rides: confirm the vehicle is being used only where the law allows, verify the rider is old enough, and make sure the helmet is properly fastened before the engine starts. After a week that put Valencia County Fire Department crews on multiple serious calls, the warning was not theoretical. It was a reminder that one bad decision can turn a summer outing into a hospital run.