(Guthrie Center) – A teenager from Bayard was cited following a rollover accident at around 5:30-p.m. on June 15th. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says 14-year-old Taytum Odel Bates was traveling east on School Street in Guthrie Center. Where the road transitioned from paved to gravel, the 2006 Ford Ranger Bates was driving began operating in what authorities said was a “reckless fashion intentionally fishtailing on the gravel.”

The pickup fish-tailed for about 300 feet before the passenger side tires entered the south ditch. Bates over-corrected, causing the vehicle to skid across the road and enter the north ditch, where it overturned. Bates was not wearing his seat belt, and suffered suspected minor, non-incapacitating injuries. He was helped out of the truck by friends who had been following in a second vehicle.

The Sheriff’s Office says Bates was not part of the pickup owners’ family, and he was driving on a school permit. He was cited for Violation of the conditions of a minor’s school license, and Careless Driving. The pickup sustained $6,000 damage, and was a total loss.