InjuryBoard Contributor

Sue DeLoretto-Rabe

Cofounder Concerned Families for ATV Safety

Sue's Biography

I am a mother of 4 children.  I have a young daughter and three boys, one of which was killed on May 6, 2002 in an ATV accident while on our neighbor’s property. 

After doing an article for PEOPLE Magazine with my husband, I was amazed at the number of letters and calls we received from others who had suffered the same kind of loss.  Together we decided to do something and founded our organization, Concerned Families for ATV Safety, www.atvsafetynet.org.   We are a network of parents dedicated to reducing injuries and deaths among children driving and riding on powerful All Terrain Vehicles (ATV'S).

I grew up in a large Italian family in Salem, OR. where I graduated from high school and then went on to the University of Oregon in Eugene.  I got married and had twin boys and then my son Kyle.  We moved out of the city and onto 137 acres in Turner, OR when Kyle was entering the second grade.  Two and a half years later our lives were changed forever.  Our son Kyle, then almost 11 years old, died. 

I was 43 years old and my life as I knew it was over.  My older boys had grown and moved out of the house and Kyle was my world.  I was a stay at home mother and now felt I didn't have a purpose in life anymore.  While all the other mom's where waking up and taking their children to school, I had no reason to get out of bed. 

After a few months our doctor talked to us about having another child.  In a strange way it was our way of getting Kyle back we thought.  After many dollars spent I got pregnant exactly one year to the date of Kyle's death.  I now have a 6 yr old daughter whom we named after Kyle.  Her name is Kyleah and she is very precious.  Although she will never replace Kyle, she has brought the joy back into our lives again.

I will never give up trying to prevent these horrible tragedies from happening to others. 
No child under the age of 16 should ever be on an ATV!

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