JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has released the identity of a man killed during after losing control of his ATV Tuesday night.
Police said 48-year-old Matthew Roth was an ATV riding in the grass along Commonwealth Ave, Tuesday around 8 p.m. when investigators say he hit a culvert, lost control and crashed.
Officials say Roth was not wearing a helmet.
According to Florida law, only those 16 and under are required to wear a helmet. ATVs can not be operated on public streets or highways and can only be operated by either a licensed driver or a supervised minor.
Detectives responding to the scene say Roth was in the grass when the crash happened.
"Just an unfortunate circumstance," Sgt. Robert Hungerford, with JSO's traffic homicide Unit, said. "Looks like he hit a small culvert, and then the vehicle accelerated in speed and he lost control."
According to the Consumer Federation of America, there were nearly 300 fatal ATV crashes nationwide last year.
Officials with Florida Highway Patrol say they responded to dozens of ATV accidents throughout Duval and worked to educate the community about safety.
“Helmets one of the most important safety devices you can wear with ATVs, side by sides, or even motorcycles for that matter. As long as bicycles you know, these are, these are pieces of safety equipment that keep the operator safe in the event that a crash occurs or, or even something as simple as a fall from the vehicle.” Sgt. Dylan Bryan, with the Florida Highway Patrol, said.
"It's very important to protect our bodies, especially in our heads with helmets while we're operating these vehicles," Bryan said.
This is the 45 traffic fatality in Duval County.