Pasco boy critically injured while driving ATV

A 9-year-old boy driving an all-terrain vehicle was critically injured in Pasco County on Friday night after crashing into a car, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The boy, from San Antonio, was driving a 2016 Polaris Ranger side-by-side ATV with his 34-year-old father in the passenger seat, heading east on the grassy shoulder of State Road 52 near Palm Street, troopers said.

At the same time, a 54-year-old Dade City man was driving a 2018 Toyota Camry in the same direction on State Road 52. The 9-year-old boy tried to drive across the road and hit the back of the Camry while it was passing, according to the Highway Patrol.

The ATV spun and overturned, troopers said. The Camry ran into a ditch beside the road.

The boy’s father suffered minor injuries. The Camry’s driver and his passenger, a 52-year-old woman, were not injured.