Two 12-year-old boys were taken to Prince County Hospital over the weekend after a collision in Clermont between the dirt bike they were driving and a motor vehicle. 

Just before 2 p.m. Saturday, a car driven by a 54-year-old Summerside man collided with the dirt bike travelling in the same direction on the Clermont Road, outside Kensington. 

Cpl. Scott Lundrigan of the East Prince RCMP said the dirt bike carrying the two youths was traveling along the shoulder of the road with three other off-road vehicles when it made a sharp left turn to cross the road as the car was pulling out to pass. 

"The driver didn't realize the car was there and he was fortunate the operator of the vehicle was taking good care going by because he was nervous about the dirt bikes," said Lundrigan. "It could've been a lot worse."

One of the boys was taken to hospital with a broken leg which will require corrective surgery. The other was taken into hospital by his parents with a sore arm and was likely treated and released, Lundrigan said. 

The investigation into the accident is ongoing but no charges are pending at this time. 

Lundrigan said the pair were wearing the proper safety equipment to operate the off-road motorcycles and weren't in violation of the Off-road Safety Act, but stressed the importance of proper helmet safety. 

"Their helmets did fly off when they were struck, so they likely didn't have them properly tightened," he said. "It's very easy for a helmet to come off and the type of helmet the driver was wearing restricts vision and hearing so it's important to be very careful."