A 2-year-old boy was seriously injured after climbing aboard an all-terrain vehicle, starting the ignition and driving over a 5-foot embankment, authorities said.
The boy, a Port Huron resident, was operating a child-sized Suzuki four-wheeler on Sunday in Charlevoix County's Wilson Township when he crashed. The child suffered a severely broken jaw and facial cuts.
He was rushed to Charlevoix Area Hospital and later flown in critical condition to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, where his condition had improved to fair by Tuesday, hospital officials said.
The Charlevoix County sheriff's department is investigating whether criminal neglect charges should be filed.
"The father was in the garage. The mother was in the house," Undersheriff Don Schneider told the Traverse City Record-Eagle. "The victim had been riding earlier with an older brother, about 11 or 12 years old. The father didn't even hear him start the machine up."
The ATV is designed for a child between 6 and 12 years and is owned by the boy's father.
The county prosecutor's office will review the case.
"We don't see too many cases with a child this young operating any type of equipment," said Shaynee Fanara, chief assistant prosecutor.
Officials will review what the parents knew about the child's use of the ATV and how closely the boy was being supervised at the time, she said.