ATV rider critically injured in crash

An ATV rider was severely injured Tuesday after crashing his ATV in a fence in West Odessa, witnesses and a Department of Public Safety trooper said.

The rider, identified by relatives as Ismael Arroyo, was taken to Medical Center Hospital where he was listed in critical condition following the crash, which was reported at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

DPS trooper Chad Matlock said the ATV was heading east in the 6700 block of West 24th Street when it went off the road, collided with two large wooden fence posts and then continued forward several more feet.

A puddle of blood about a foot wide and three feet long was found about 20 feet from the damaged fence in the dirt on the corner of the property. The Polaris ATV's wheels were bent out of alignment, its wheels turned toward the puddle.

Connie Owens, who lives near where the crash took place and who saw Arroyo before the ambulance took him to the hospital, said she heard the gate fall over nearby and she came out and saw the man lying where the blood puddle was.

"He was covered in blood all over his face," Owens said.