Fish and Game conservation officers were called to three separate OHRV crashes in the span of one hour on Saturday in Coos County.
At approximately 5:50 p.m., a call came in advising that a man had crashed an ATV on private property off Abigail Circle in Jefferson. The man was reported to be sitting up but suffering from unknown injuries. A Conservation Officer began a response to the scene but had to divert five minutes later to respond to another crash at Jericho Lake State Park in Berlin.
A deputy from the Coos County Sherrif’s Office heard about the Jefferson call and subsequently responded to the scene to investigate in the absence of Conservation Officers.
Upon arrival at Jericho Lake State Park, a Conservation Officer learned that Berlin Fire and EMS were on scene and assisting 27-year-old Patrick Vigneau of West Greenwhich, Rhode Island.
It was learned that Vigneau had been the passenger on an ATV that had crashed on the North Artery Trail. Vigneau had sustained significant but non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the crash.
Vigneau was ultimately transported out of the woods by a Berlin Fire Department UTV and then taken by ambulance to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin for further evaluation and treatment. This crash is still under investigation, but it appears that operator inexperience was a significant factor in the crash.
About the time that the Jericho crash investigation was wrapping up, a third call came in for another ATV crash in a very remote area of Cambridge, New Hampshire. This crash, which occurred on what is known as West Black Cambridge Mountain Road, involved a single operator with a reported arm injury.
Conservation Officers, along with personnel from Errol Fire and EMS immediately began a response to the scene.
Due to the remoteness of the location, it took responders until almost 9 p.m. to reach the scene via pickup trucks and ATVs (an ambulance could not make it to the scene). Once on scene, personnel spoke with and evaluated Juston Townson, 52, of Beckett, Mass. It was learned that Townson had rolled his ATV after hitting a washout in the trail. Errol EMS quickly determined that Townson’s injuries were worse than he thought, and immediately began working with Conservation Officers and Colebrook Dispatch to get a medical helicopter to the scene.
After a number of calls, personnel were able to confirm that a helicopter from Maine Medical would attempt to respond to the scene.
At approximately 10 p.m. the helicopter from Maine Medical landed in a log landing approximately a mile from the scene. Townson was subsequently secured on a backboard and transported via pickup truck to the helicopter.
Once at the helicopter he was treated for a serious chest injury and then flown to Maine Medical Center in Portland for further evaluation and treatment.
Based on the preliminary investigation, authorities believe that speed and inattention were contributing factors to this crash.
Three straight weekends of beautiful weather, warm Temperatures and brilliant foliage have resulted in a huge number of visitors flocking to Coos County.
Overall this has created a lot of bright spots for local businesses, but it has also resulted in a high volume of calls and workloads for area first responders. With some OHRV trail systems closing seasonally soon, OHRV enthusiasts are quick to point out that they are definitely here to enjoy one last ride. Authorities would like to remind riders to exercise due caution and remember that defensive driving needs to remain a constant priority.
