Four wheelers are meant to be recreational vehicles, but all too often they are the center of fatal accidents. Part of the problem is that those riding all-terrain vehicles are more vulnerable and exposed if a vehicle crashes.

A deadly ATV crash in Tennessee last week left a woman dead. Now the driver is facing various charges, including DUI and leaving the scene of an accident.

The crash happened on Wednesday evening at about 9 p.m. The driver of the ATV apparently lost control of the vehicle, veered off the road and crashed into a ditch and overturned. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, neither the driver nor the passenger was wearing a helmet.

The 45-year-old driver, who was injured in the crash, apparently left the scene. Authorities later located him at his home. From there, he was transported to a hospital by an ambulance. The passenger, a 42-year-old woman, was declared dead at the scene. It’s not clear if she survived for a time or died instantly. Authorities did say that an autopsy was to be conducted.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Criminal Incident Response Team was called in to reconstruct the accident, according to the Paris Post Intelligencer, while the Criminal Investigations Division was looking into the cause of the accident.

The driver of the four wheeler was charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. It’s believed that both he and the passenger were drinking prior to the fatal crash.

Source: Paris Post Intelligencer, “Henry County woman killed in ATV accident; driver arrested,” Ron Park, March 30, 2012