What you're about to read is a story so dumb, we almost couldn't believe it, either. But it's real, even though it sounds like the kind of scenario where, if you wrote it into a screenplay, you'd get notes back about how it's 'too unrealistic' and 'too unbelievable' and to please get back in touch with reality.
Or, more likely, just have the entire thing filed in the bin because your brain is clearly a wholly unreliable producer of credible content. And yet, as I said, it's real. Someone was really, truly this dumb. (You okay over there, humanity?)
The story, as reported by several Kansas City, Missouri news outlets, goes a little something like this. During the wee, small, overnight hours of Sunday, November 24, 2024, while the children were presumably nestled all safe in their beds, a lone ATV rider was out riding the Kansas City streets.
Very specifically, they were near west 32nd Street and Broadway Boulevard when they apparently decided now was a great time to do some tricks. With absolutely no lights on.
And while roads were undoubtedly much less busy at roughly 3:15 a.m. than they would have been during the day, streets in a city are rarely ever completely empty.
And they weren't empty here, either, as the stunting ATV rider proceeded to hit an ambulance. And not only did they hit the ambulance, but they apparently hit it in such a way as to eject from the ATV, then get run over by the ambulance they'd just hit.
This ambulance was in the process of transporting another patient to a nearby hospital when the ATV crashed into it and the incident occurred. They were reportedly able to secure a second ambulance to transport that patient the rest of the way to the hospital as an unintentional patient relay event.
Thankfully, both the ambulance driver, their front-seat passenger, and the patient who was inside the ambulance at the time of the crash did not sustain injuries.
The ATV rider reportedly died at the scene. No public identification has been released at the time of writing.
Now, chances are excellent that if you're reading this piece at all, you don't need me to tell you not to do this (or anything like it). I'm not your parents, I'm not here to tell you what to do. Do I hope you're smarter than this? Yes, absolutely. Please don't be this dumb.
Are ATVs inherently bad or unsafe? Not if you get proper training, don't ride outside your limits, and ride according to whatever your local laws say. In some places, you can ride on public roads; in others, you can't. It's up to you to know what's allowed in your area. Otherwise, there are trails and parks and other places where you can ride.
Is doing tricks inherently bad or unsafe? Only you know your skill levels, and it's up to you to be honest with yourself about it (because you're the person who will pay the price if you're not).
But also, don't be dumb about it. There's a time and a place, and it's usually not with no lights on and on public streets. Period.
