A 10-year-old Warren County girl who loved the outdoors was killed Wednesday when the four-wheeler she was riding at her Tucker Road home flipped, crushing her beneath it.

Morgan C. Caruthers, a fifth-grader at Redwood Elementary, was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. at River Region Medical Center. Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey said she died from chest and abdominal injuries. A career funeral director elected to investigate the cause and manner of deaths, Huskey could not remain detached, “She was a pretty little girl,” he said.

“She loved anything to do with the outdoors,” said Morgan’s father, Thomas A. “Tac” Caruthers. “Hunting, fishing, softball — she loved being outdoors.” Her mother is Renee Caruthers, and she had a sister, Jessica, 22, a brother, Rhoads, 9, and a large extended family.

Morgan participated in the Vicksburg Girls Softball Association and was on a team sponsored by the family air conditioning and heating business. She was able to play any position on the field, her father said. “She was talented. She pitched Tuesday night and got the game ball.”

She was popular with teammates and fans, and had “a bunch” of friends, her father said.

After school, Morgan was riding one of the family’s four-wheelers on a trail around their home at 4775 Tucker Road. Tac Caruthers said the family was outside and nearby — he was on a lawn mower and Morgan’s mother and brother were on another four-wheeler. She was used to driving on the trail and was wearing a helmet, he said. “She’s been doing it her whole life. She’s been riding since she could ride.”

Tac Caruthers said he thought the front tire of Morgan’s ATV must have caught on a tree and caused the ATV to flip. “She had a little cell phone with her and tried calling me at 5:39,” he said. “I didn’t make it to her in time.”

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace, several deputies, a game warden and volunteers from the Culkin Volunteer Fire Department responded to the home after the emergency call was received at 5:41 p.m. Her father had pulled the ATV off Morgan and begun CPR, Pace said. Deputies and rescue workers took over and continued CPR until paramedics from the Vicksburg Fire Department arrived. Rescue efforts continued all the way to the hospital, where emergency room doctors were waiting, but could not revive her.

At Redwood Elementary School this morning, counselors from all over the district were on hand, Principal Bubba Hanks said. Hanks spent the morning going class to class.

“She was just a loving, caring little girl,” Hanks said. “And she did love the outdoors. If we had camouflage day, she’d sure be decked out in camouflage. We talked about hunting a lot, since she knew I liked doing that, too.”

Morgan was born in Vicksburg on Aug. 7, 1998. Her father is a graduate of Warren Central High School and part owner, with his father and brother, of Caruthers HVACR on Washington Street.

Renee Caruthers, a native of Holly Bluff, is an information management specialist with Bowhead Technical and Professional Services, performing contract work at the Army Corps of Engineer’s Engineering Research and Development Center. Rhoads Caruthers is a third-grader at Redwood Elementary.

The family attends Bradley’s Chapel United Methodist Church on Oak Ridge Road.

Glenwood Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com