A 9-year-old Cape Coral child is in stable condition after being seriously injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident Sunday afternoon.

According to the Cape Coral Police Department, the boy suffered a fractured skull after crossing into the roadway in front of a car near the intersection of Northeast Pine Island Lane and Northeast 7th Place. He was not wearing a helmet, according to police.

CCPD’s investigation determined that the 9-year-old and an adult guardian were riding ATVs in a nearby vacant lot. At the edge of the roadway, the guardian stopped his vehicle so as to not drive in front of the oncoming vehicle. According to witnesses, the child did not stop and drove south into the roadway in front of the car. Police said the car veered to the left, and that the left side of the child’s ATV hit the front right side of the car. The child fell off of the ATV and onto the roadway.

Lee County EMS arrived and determined that the child suffered potentially life-threatening head injuries and he was trauma alerted to Lee Memorial Hospital by ambulance. At the hospital, it was determined that the boy suffered a skull fracture and was being admitted for observation, but was in stable condition.

The juvenile was determined to be at fault, according to the investigation, and also was not wearing a helmet or eye protection, which are required by law for those under the age of 16.

The guardian was issued a citation for operating an ATV on a roadway.

“The Cape Coral Police Department reminds the public that operating an unregistered motor vehicle (such as an ATV) on public roadways is against the law,” officials said in a statement. “The City of Cape Coral also prohibits via ordinance any riding of ATVs in vacant lots or unimproved property.”

Police said the traffic crash was not alcohol or drug related.

This is the 38th traffic incident in the city this year that has required serious medical attention. There have been 12 deaths.

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