Richmond, TX — September 28, 2025, one person was injured in an ATV accident at about 3 a.m. in the 400 block of Damon Street.

A preliminary accident report indicates that a 2008 Polaris Sportsman ATV overturned after running off the road near the intersection with Avenue C.

The driver, a 26-year-old man, was seriously injured in the crash, according to authorities. His name has not been made public yet.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Fort Bend County crash at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

Moments of recreation can turn serious in an instant, especially when vehicles not built for road use are involved. But even when circumstances seem straightforward, it's worth asking whether the right questions are being asked, and answered, after the fact.

Did the authorities thoroughly investigate the crash? When crashes happen in the early morning hours, there's a risk that limited staffing or fatigue might shorten the scope of an investigation. Did investigators conduct a full reconstruction of how the ATV came to overturn? Did they examine the rider’s actions before the incident or rely solely on surface-level details? With single-vehicle crashes, it's especially important to rule out all contributing factors, not just assume the rider lost control.

Has anyone looked into the possibility that a vehicle defect caused the crash? ATVs like the Polaris Sportsman have known stability concerns, particularly when maneuvering at higher speeds or on uneven terrain. If something in the steering, suspension, or braking system failed without warning, that could have caused a loss of control. But unless someone inspects the vehicle itself, there's no way to confirm or rule that out. Hopefully the ATV wasn’t towed off or disposed of before such an inspection could happen.

Has all the electronic data relating to the crash been collected? Most ATVs don’t come equipped with engine control modules like passenger vehicles do, but that doesn’t mean there’s no useful data. GPS devices, helmet cams or even smartphones can reveal speed, direction or any signs of distraction. If the rider had a phone on him, it might show whether he was communicating just before the crash, or whether mapping data captured the ATV's movements.

As easy as it is to chalk this up to bad luck or rider error, experience says that surface answers rarely tell the whole story. That’s why it matters to dig deeper, because knowing exactly what went wrong is the first step toward making sure it doesn’t happen again.

Key Takeaways:

• It's unclear whether crash investigators fully reconstructed how and why the ATV flipped.
• Mechanical issues like brake or steering failure should be considered, not assumed away.
• GPS data or smartphone records could hold clues about what really happened.