BRAMWELL, W.Va. — A rider from North Carolina is dead after an accident on an All Terrain Vehicle while riding the Hatfield-McCoy Trail in Southern West Virginia.
Robert Mahoney, 65, of Newton, N.C. is identified by Natural Resources Police as the victim. He was killed Saturday afternoon while riding on the Pocahontas Trail System in Mercer County.
It’s only the fifth fatality in the 16 year history of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail system according to Executive Director Jeffrey Lusk.
“It does happen,” said Lusk. “This sport, like all outdoor sports, does occasionally have a fatality. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s family.”
Mahoney was attempting to navigate a trail marked with a black designation according to Natural Resources Police. The black trails are marked for the highest degree of difficulty to warn riders of the risks.
“Our black trails are for the expert riders. Those are our most difficult trails and tend to be the ones that are hardest to traverse,” said Lusk. “Being on a black trail certainly makes it much more difficult. It really is something designed for an expert rider.”
Mahoney’s four-wheeler flipped over as he attempted to climb the steep embankment and rolled on him several times according to investigators.
Despite the incident, Lusk said the trail is still among the safest places in the United States to ride an ATV.
“We are the safest place in the country to ride an ATV which is ironic being in West Virginia which annually will lead the country in per capita ATV deaths,” Lusk said. “But the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System has received safety awards from institutions all over the country because we do have safe, well marked trails.”