A Chaloner Middle School student died in a single-vehicle ATV crash Sunday in the Hedgepeth Road area of Halifax.

The Roanoke Rapids Graded School District identified the child as 11-year-old Brett Peterson, a sixth-grader at the middle school.

“All of our Roanoke Rapids Graded School District counselors will be at Chaloner today to support the students and staff there as they go through this difficult time,” said Interim Superintendent Julie Thompson in a statement. “We will continue to keep Brett's family, his classmates, and teachers in our thoughts and prayers. We will also share information about arrangements when they become available.” 

Said Thompson: “We will support each other and walk this difficult road together as a school community.”   

In a statement Chief Deputy Scott Hall of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to the 900 block of Hedgepeth Road after receiving a report around 4 p.m. of “an all-terrain vehicle accident involving an 11-year-old male. The accident occurred in a field off Hedgepeth Road just outside Halifax.”

Hall said in the statement Halifax County EMS also responded to the scene. 

Deputies found the ATV on its side when they arrived, Hall said.