A man has been air-lifted to Adelaide with serious injuries following a buggy crash south of Alice Springs on Saturday night.

Police received a report just before 11pm that a 49-year-old man had been injured after the all-terrain vehicle in which he was a passenger had rolled on a property on Cotterill Road south of Alice Springs.

The 23-year-old driver was uninjured.

Sergeant Conan Robertson said it appeared the men were not wearing helmets or seatbelts when the crash occurred.

“The passenger was ejected from the vehicle  as it rolled when the driver lost control, “  Sgt Robertson said.

“The passenger appears to have sustained serious head injuries as a result of not wearing a helmet.  He has been air-lifted to Royal Adelaide Hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition in the Intensive Care Unit.

“This tragic event provides another reminder to people to wear helmets and use safety equipment whenever they’re riding in recreational vehicles like these, and they should be mindful that accidents can occur anywhere, even on private property.

“We would simply urge anyone riding in these vehicles to stop and think before ever getting aboard without a helmet,” Sgt Robertson.

“It just takes a moment’s lack of concentration to unbalance these vehicles with sometimes dire results, so anyone spurning the use of a helmet is potentially risking his life.”

In a separate incident  a 21-year-old man was also flown to Royal Adelaide Hospital after suffering serious injuries in a motor cycle crash on the Finke Track south of Alice Springs at the weekend. Police are investigating the circumstances of the crash which occurred  just before 2pm yesterday.

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