An ATV crash in the Aynor area of Horry County on Wednesday night prompted a complex rescue, with emergency crews cutting through thick vegetation to reach the injured driver. The incident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. in a field along Hughes Gasque Road, information from Horry County Fire Rescue.
Firefighters found the ATV operator in a ditch estimated to be about 10 feet deep. Trees and dense undergrowth made access difficult, so responders cleared a path to reach the driver. Crews stabilized and treated the individual at the scene.
After initial medical care, the injured person was moved to a designated landing zone and flown to a hospital. The driver’s condition had not been publicly identified as of Thursday morning.
Terrain and vegetation can complicate access to off-road crashes. ATVs typically have a straddle seat and handlebars, unlike side-by-side utility terrain vehicles, and generally lack a roll cage and seat belts. A safety reference by Langdon & Emison, summarizing Consumer Product Safety Commission data, describes the risk of occupants being ejected in rollovers or falls. It also reports an estimated 14,800 emergency-department-treated injuries involving utility terrain vehicles and recreational off-highway vehicles in 2023. That broader figure is not specific to this crash, ATVs alone or South Carolina.
Federal rulemaking has also addressed safety features on recreational off-highway vehicles, a category distinct from traditional ATVs. Langdon & Emison’s summary says the Consumer Product Safety Commission opened a rulemaking in 2009 and proposed requirements in 2014 covering lateral stability and handling, with occupant retention also addressed. The proposal included a provision limiting speed to 15 miles per hour unless front occupants’ seat belts were fastened; the Commission formally withdrew the rulemaking on September 29, 2025. The summary describes ANSI/ROHVA 1 as a voluntary industry standard, not a mandatory federal requirement for utility terrain vehicles and side-by-sides.
A separate report on a collision in the Madrid region describes firefighters rescuing drivers after a serious crash in Madrid region. It concerns a different incident from the Horry County ATV rescue.
