A Minnesota father is confused about why he’s facing criminal charges after the death of his 10-year-old daughter and her friend. On April 22, 2023, 54-year-old Lance Alan Koeckeritz was the adult responsible for his daughter Savanna and her friend Alexis Gibson, also age 10. While in his care, the two girls decided to ride an ATV.
The vehicle contained an 800cc engine — well above the legal limit for minors of their age, which is 110cc — according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The two girls were eventually found trapped under the full weight of the vehicle.
Koeckeritz called the charges ‘mind blowing.’
Both girls were pronounced dead at the scene, the family’s property, The Daily Mail reported. Eventually, authorities launched an investigation. At its culmination, Koeckeritz was charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment charges. Koeckeritz called the charges “mind-blowing.”
“We lost our daughter and her friend,” he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “It’s devastating. … The fact that the county prosecutor would even be contemplating charges is mind-blowing. Isn’t it enough that my other kids have lost our daughter due to a freak accident?”
Koeckeritz and his wife have seven children in total, three from their union and four from Koeckeritz’s previous relationship.
‘There wasn’t a lack of confidence in her abilities,’ Koeckeritz said about his daughter operating the ATV.
The father defended the girls’ use of the ATVs, claiming it’s a part of their family culture. “Us and the kids have hundreds of hours on four-wheelers,” Koeckeritz said, according to the Daily Mail. “It’s the way we all grew up. … There wasn’t a lack of confidence in her abilities. She was making a left-hand turn, and a wheel got caught in a divot. It was just unforeseen.”
When deputies arrived at the family home, they found Jennifer Koeckeritz, Savanna’s mother, and another child performing CPR on the girls. First responders took over and also administered aid, but the children were pronounced dead at the scene.
Another child in the home found Savanna and Alexis.
On the day of the accident, although Koeckeritz was home with the girls, he was not supervising them on the ATVs. His wife was at work. When she returned home, at 4:15 and couldn’t find the girls, she began searching for them, the Daily Mail reported. Another child in the home found the two trapped under the weight of the ATV, unconscious and not breathing. Neither girl was wearing protective gear.
That model of ATV weighs 1,000 pounds with a full tank of gas.
Autopsies concluded that both girls died of asphyxia, according to Twin Cities Pioneer Press. The ATV manufacturer stated that that model weighs 1,000 pounds when it has a full tank of gas. Savanna and Alexis are two of 15 riders who died after riding ATVs in Minnesota last year.
Four of those people were younger than 18. Koeckeritz told authorities his children were allowed to operate the ATVs without permission or supervision. Koeckeritz was charged via summons, the Star Tribune reported. He is set to appear in court on August 19.