'One wrong move': 6 Islanders killed on ATVs, snowmobiles since 2012

Moe MacDougall did not want his younger brother, Derryl, to buy an all-terrain vehicle.

The brothers were never exposed to the machines growing up in Charlottetown. Derryl was learning to ride one in his late 40s.

Plus, Moe had heard plenty of horror stories from people who'd been hurt, or worse, on an ATV.

"I told him, 'Derryl, you've got to watch yourself on these ATVs,'" Moe MacDougall said.

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"Because one wrong move, things can go bad for you."

Derryl told his brother not to worry. But one year after he bought his first four-wheeler, Derryl MacDougall was dead.

He is one of six people from Prince Edward Island to die from an ATV or snowmobile-related crash since 2012, a CBC News investigation has found.

The province has the lowest off-road vehicle death rate of all Atlantic provinces at four deaths per 100,000 people.

More than 170 killed across region

CBC News has compiled information on every fatal crash in Atlantic Canada since 2012, building a database of information from police, news clippings, obituaries and interviews with family members of victims.

The project was prompted by what seemed a steady stream of press releases from police in recent years, each one letting newsrooms know of another death on a recreational vehicle.

The goal was to dig deeper into the reasons why people die every year.

Across four provinces, at least 178 people have died over the past six years.

Most of the victims are middle-aged men, an analysis has found, while alcohol was involved in at least 41 per cent of all Atlantic off-road vehicle deaths.

All P.E.I. victims were men

The picture is similar on the island.

Most of the crashes happened between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., with more people dying on ATVs than snowmobiles.

On Prince Edward Island, all six victims were male, ranging in age from 14 to 49.

All six victims were operating the machines rather than travelling as passengers.

Alcohol was involved in half of those six cases.

'One wrong move, things can go bad'

The victims included Derryl MacDougall, a 49-year-old father of two adult children.

He loved golfing, the Detroit Red Wings and his job as an electrician at Parks Canada.

The crash that took his life happened on the night of July 29, 2017.

That night, Derryl was at a friend's house in Wheatley River, 25 minutes outside Charlottetown. He'd been drinking and asked his son to give him a ride home.

But first, he decided to put his ATV away in a barn. His brother estimates the barn was only 50 metres away, up a long driveway. Derryl didn't put his helmet on.

Something went wrong during those 50 metres. Derryl lost control of his ATV, crashed into a tree and fractured his skull.

Moe, who lived in Alberta at the time, woke up to a late-night call from Derryl's wife.

"It was the toughest time in my life, when I lost my brother," Moe said.

"If they have to go through what our family had to go through, was it worth it? No, it wasn't."

'Important to keep talking about him'

Derryl's co-workers at Parks Canada raised money after his death. When it came time to figure out how to use it, Derryl's wife, Karrie, decided a memorial bench would be the best way to remember him.

The cedar bench was built by hand by Derryl's friend Jim Mooney. It sits overlooking Stanhope Beach.

"I just think it's important to keep talking about him," Karrie said.

"I don't ever want it to fade, for people to forget him."

After her husband's death, Karrie struggled to understand what happened.

Derryl used to be a volunteer firefighter who responded to crash scenes. He was a stickler for safety and always wore his helmet.

She thinks of him when she hears George Jones on the radio or when she walks into his woodworking shop, still plastered with Detroit Red Wings logos.

They'd been together since they were in Grade 12.

"When you're with someone for 31 years, it's hard to find out who you are without them," Karrie said.

In addition to the memorial bench, family friends organized the first annual Derryl James MacDougall Memorial Golf Tournament this past summer. It was a chance to get Derryl's friends back together again and to share memories.

The money raised goes toward First Impressions, a non-profit run by Karrie that helps women in need find clothing for things like job interviews.

Safety training not mandatory on P.E.I.

Derryl didn't have any formal safety training, but that's not unusual.

Anyone over 16 can buy an ATV without any kind of training on Prince Edward Island, as long as they've had a driver's licence for 24 months. If you're 14 or 15, safety training is mandatory.

Doctors and family members of victims across Atlantic Canada have called for mandatory safety training for anyone using off-road vehicles, including all adults.

Both Moe and Karrie MacDougall said they support the idea of mandatory training, if it helps another person.

"That's unbelievable how many people have been killed on the machines," Moe said.

"Which probably states perhaps there should be some type of training for people. If there's no training for them, people are just going out and buying these machines."

But the idea of mandatory training for all isn't being considered on P.E.I., according to the minister responsible for transportation.

Paula Biggar said anyone with a driver's license has already taken safety training and knows about "defensive driving."

"We have probably some of the strongest laws in the country in regard to training," she said. 

Biggar originally said the deaths "have been directly related to alcohol or not having a helmet on."

"I think most people know you're not supposed to drink and drive, right?" she added.

"That is where these accidents primarily have come from, the fatalities."

On Monday, the minister apologized for those comments.

"Not all ATV/snowmobile fatalities in the past six years in P.E.I. were due to alcohol use or lack of safety gear. I apologize for earlier comments," Biggar wrote in an emailed statement.

"One death is one too many and each of these deaths is a tragedy."

Additional research was provided by CBC Reference librarians Cathy Ross and Diana Redegeld.