Teen dies in motocross accident

Published Thursday, May 1, 2008

By Chris Butler

A 16-year-old boy from Aledo came to the Oak Hill Motorcross Park for a tournament in Wise County Saturday and died after he was involved in a motorcycle accident there.

Private paramedics responded and transported Michael Hamilton, 16, to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth where doctors pronounced him dead as a result of head trauma, said Linda Anderson, public information officer for the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office. Anderson would only say that the trauma occurred because his motorcycle collided with a "fixed object."

No personnel from Wise County were involved at the scene, said Sheriff David Walker.

The 32nd Annual NMA Grand National Championships National Qualifiers was held at the park Saturday, according to the park's Web site.

Hamilton transferred to Aledo High School earlier this year, and Principal Sheryl Preston said he was still acquainting himself with his new school and his classmates.

"I notified all of his teachers about his death, and they all told me that he was a very nice young man," Preston said.

No other information about what happened Saturday was available, and that's because county personnel weren't called to the scene.

Chief Deputy Doug Whitehead said sheriff's deputies were informed of the accident on Saturday.

"There needs to be a little more information, and the people who were involved need to report it better. You don't normally have a situation where private medics are called to respond to the scene.

"Do we have the authority to be more involved in these situations? We are doing a review and seeing if maybe this is a good reason to have a county health officer. If private companies want to have private emergency medical personnel then they need to furnish us with information that shows us those people are certified," Whitehead said.

Oak Hill Motorcross owner Jeff Oldenburg was at the park Monday but would not comment on Saturday's death.

"I don't think I should say anything. It really is a tragic situation, though," Oldenburg said.

A teenager from Southlake died in a motorcycle accident at the same park three years ago.

Bryson Edward "B" Watson, who was 14 at the time, died after being taken to a hospital following a wreck during competition in the Grand National Championship International final at the park.

Craig Martin, who owned the park at that time, said the accident occurred during a race after Watson was driving his motorcycle full speed into a fence.