A San Rafael woman suffered fatal head and neck injuries in an all terrain vehicle accident in Anderson, just south of Redding. The 29-year-old woman was riding a 2007 Yamaha Rhino ATV with a passenger when the vehicle overturned. The California Highway Patrol says that both riders were ejected from the four-wheeler in the crash.

The Rhino reportedly flipped over, landing on the San Rafael woman, causing severe head and neck injuries. Authorities say that the woman was taken to an area hospital after the crash, where doctors pronounced her dead,

The woman was riding with her boyfriend on a wet and muddy road. The ATV is believed to have struck a tire rut in the road, causing the front wheels to abruptly turn to the left. The abrupt and violent change of direction caused the Rhino to overturn.

The woman's boyfriend, who suffered minor personal injuries in the ATV rollover accident, was joined by one neighbor in lifting the ATV off the severely injured driver.

Authorities say neither rider was wearing a helmet during the Saturday morning ride. The CHP says that the ATV riders were not wearing seatbelts, which were available on the four-wheeler.

The accident was reported around 9:40 a.m. Saturday. Law enforcement does not believe that alcohol or drugs played any role in the fatal accident.

San Francisco motorcycle accident and personal injury lawyers are aware that ATVs can come in a wide variety of configurations. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that 317 people died and 115,000 people required treatment in emergency rooms across the country in 2010, the latest data available.

The statistics recorded in 2010 involved ATVs designed with three, four or more wheels. The 2010 data was a significant improvement from the number of ATV related fatalities and injuries reported just one year earlier. The CPSC reports that 2009 saw 649 fatalities and 131,900 emergency room visits resulting from ATV accidents across the nation.

Source: Marin Independent Journal, "Woman, 29, former Terra Linda High basketball standout, dies in ATV accident," Mark Prado, Jan. 24, 2012