CHP: Drowning Of 2 Boys In Rural Lincoln ATV Crash Appears To Be Accident

PLACER COUNTY (CBS13) — Two children died after driving their ATV into a pond in what the California Highway Patrol is calling an accident.

The boys, 3 and 5 years old, were playing on a small all-terrain vehicle on Sunday that somehow went into a backyard pond in rural Lincoln. By the time parents discovered them, it was too late.

The CHP says the accident serves as a reminder that a few minutes could be the difference between injury and tragedy.

The coroner has identified the 5-year-old as Blake Cronkhite. The 3-year-old has been identified as Jayden James Secrest of Citrus Heights.

The CHP is now trying to figure out just how it happened.

CBS13 spoke to Doug Stabler, who has been selling ATVs for more than a decade. He says the gas-powered vehicles are made for children 12 years and up. He says it's not uncommon for smaller children to take them for a spin, something he doesn't recommend.

"It needs to be a controlled environment, a very controlled environment," he said.

Along with supervision, he recommends new technology that allows parents to quickly shut down an ATV if they fear a child is out of control by using a remote device.

"You should certainly have this in hand and be ready and be within distance where you know this thing could reach it," he said.

The CHP says the ATV was operating on private property, so the children were riding on the ATV legally, it appears.

The two boys were friends, and not related to each other.