The parents at the centre of Sunday's motocross row have apologised to St. John Ambulance officials but said they only were concerned about the welfare of their ten-year-old son.

Racing at Coney Island was cancelled after just two motos when St. John Ambulance volunteers left the track after they were involved in a verbal altercation with Vaughan and Amanda Smith, parents of rider Jonte.

The Warwick couple, who say they want to diffuse a situation they believe has got out of hand, criticised the volunteers after their youngster was injured in an accident during one of the two races.

They claim that their son lay on the track for several minutes before he received any sort of attention and when it did come it was from them and not the St. John volunteers.

It was said that the medical team were working on another rider at the time of Smith's spill, but his mother disputes this fact.

“On the second lap of the second moto my son had a spill. I was not aware that there was another accident at the time and I don't believe that they were attending to another rider. As far as I could see there wasn't and while I don't believe my son should be given preferential treatment if they were delayed due to another rider being down then somebody should have communicated that to us when they did finally arrive on the scene,” she said.

Mrs. Smith said at the time of the incident she was at the far side of track and saw her husband run down to her son.

“I thought it was not that serious but then the bikes came around and when Jonte was not among them I thought he cannot have got up yet and must be badly hurt,” she said.

“I raced to just beyond the finish line and it took me probably a minute and a half to get there. By the time I got there they (St. John) were still not there. I started yelling ‘Where is St. John Ambulance? We need St. John Ambulance' and nobody responded.

“When we got over there he (Jonte) couldn't move and was in a very dazed state. My husband was attending to him at the time.

“By the time he came round and we were walking off the track they (St. John) were just arriving with the medical care. I think that is unacceptable.

“I didn't swear. I said ‘don't say anything to me' because I know how it could have gotten - there have been incidents down there in the past when things have got way out of hand.”

Mrs. Smith said she was not saying that St. John Ambulance were not doing their job but she believed they should have responded faster to what could have been a serious incident.

“They have radios and if they couldn't get to him they should have notified somebody,” she said.

“It is volunteer work but at the same time if they are providing a service that involves human life then they need to show some kind of concern for it.”

Mrs. Smith said she was not saying the couple were 100 percent without fault and believes her husband, who made a public apology on local radio yesterday afternoon, may have said some things in the heat of the moment. However, she feels people are focusing on what has been portrayed as unruly behaviour when really, she contends, the matter is about rider safety.

“I am not saying we are blameless and I am sure my husband said some things that he probably feels he should not have said but when people are upset that is what happens,” she said. “However, we would like to apologise to St. John Ambulance for any offence and for any verbal abuse they believe they were subjected to.”

The Smiths are due to be called before a Bermuda Motocross Club disciplinary committee, but Mrs. Smith has urged members to take into account the situation at the time before rushing to any conclusion.

“I believe they pulled out the negative things that my husband may have said and didn't listen to the positive side,” she said, adding that he had a civil conversation with the St. John Ambulance yesterday.

“They say they are putting us in front of a disciplinary committee, but did we actually do anything that crossed that line? For my part I don't think we did.

“I don't think my husband directed it at any one person and I don't think he was trying to ridicule the St. John Ambulance Brigade. But this is not like soccer where someone falls and twists their leg, it could be fatal - I don't want my son to become a statistic because the medical staff have not shown urgency.”

Lieutenant Colonel Eugene Raynor, Commissioner of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, said he did not wish to comment on the situation yesterday as he was due to preside over the organisation's weekly meeting last night when the issue was due to be raised.