Blotter

Girl, 16, still in critical condition after off-trail dirt bike collision in Rosendale (second update)

Published: Monday, May 07, 2012

By PAULA ANN MITCHELL
Freeman staff
pmitchell@freemanonline.com; twitter.com/anchoratfreeman

ROSENDALE, N.Y. — A 16-year-old girl who was riding a four-wheeler Sunday evening when a dirt biker collided with her remained in critical condition with a fractured skull and bruising on the brain, her father said Monday night.

State police said their investigation revealed that Paul Harper, 40, was operating a Honda dirt bike on a private trail off Italiana Road and collided with the Yamaha ATV driven by the girl at about 7 p.m. Sunday. Police did not identify the girl.

But Bill Smith said his daughter, Kaylon Smith, a junior at Kingston High School, was “putting around in the yard on a quad” when the incident occurred.

She was visiting her father for the weekend at the home of a family friend, Smith said. He said she lives in Kingston with her mother.

“Kaylon was driving around the backyard of the house on a four-wheeler,” he said. “Because she was just putting around, she didn’t have a helmet.”

Smith said the biker “came flying out of the woods into the yard and just blindsided her.”

“He was going fast. He was airborne when he hit her. It was like this jump, and he hit her on the left side of her head,” Smith said.

He said he has remained by the girl’s side at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla since the incident took place.

Her father said it happened during a picnic to celebrate his birthday.

Smith related what happened late Monday and police could not be reached to confirm what he said. Continued...

State police earlier said they are continuing to investigate. No arrests had been made.

State police Senior Investigator Peter Kusminsky earlier described the area of the collision as a dead-end street with three homes. He said the location is known for ATV use by the residents who live in the neighborhood.

State police said they were investigating whether alcohol may have been a factor in the accident.