Boy, 7, dies after quad bike accident near Griffith, NSW.

A seven-year-old quad bike rider has died after a crash in the New South Wales Riverina.

Griffith Police said the boy died in Canberra Hospital this morning after an accident on Sunday afternoon.

He had been carrying a nine-year-old friend on a family property at Barellan when the Kanga 110cc quad bike overturned, pinning him under the machine.

Police said they were told the pair took a turn on the bike when they fell off.

Emergency services were called and the boy was taken to Griffith Base Hospital with serious head injuries, before being airlifted to Canberra in a critical condition.

Inspector Kym Traynor from Griffith Local Area Command said the nine-year-old boy managed to jump clear before the accident and was not injured.

She said inquiries were being made into the suitability of the helmets the riders were wearing.

“There’s certainly no suggestion that this boy was not being supervised at the time of the crash, but it just goes to show the dangers of some of the activities undertaken by young children and the possibility of serious and even fatal injury,” she said.

She said the Kanga quad bike was probably a suitable size for a child.

The bike has been taken for forensic examination and police will prepare a report for the coroner.

They said the boy’s family has requested privacy.

In 2015, Deputy state coroner Sharon Freund recommended a safety rating system for quad bikes and mandatory licences, helmets and seatbelts, and she also recommended children under the age of 16 be banned from riding the vehicles.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.