AUGUSTA, Maine – The Maine Warden Service is investigating numerous snowmobile/ATV accidents, including one fatality, which occurred over the weekend.
On Friday, Jan. 4, Christopher P. Jackson, 23, of Kennebunk was killed when he tried to avoid a gate on a shared trail in Sanford. Mr. Jackson attempted to make a hard right turn as he approached the gate, fell off the sled as it rolled to the left, and hit his head on the gate. He was pronounced dead on the scene. He was to celebrate his 24th birthday on Jan. 17.
On Saturday, Jan. 5, a snowmobiler carrying a girl as a passenger hit an Ornville-area man who was trying to get out of his way, according to Warden Rick Clowry, who is investigating the incident.
Steve Rideout, 36, attempted to ditch his snowmobile on one side of ITS 87 just north of Bingham when the unknown snowmobiler came upon him at a high rate of speed. The unknown snowmobiler, once he realized that Mr. Rideout was there, also tried to move his sled but allegedly hit Mr. Rideout. The girl fell off the snowmobile but did not appear to be injured, according to Mr. Rideout’s friend, who also was out sledding and witnessed the accident.
The unknown snowmobiler and his wife, who was following on another snowmobile, stopped to check on Mr. Rideout’s condition. Mr. Rideout suffered a broken shoulder and was spitting up blood. An ambulance was called, and the unknown snowmobiler, his wife and the girl said they would follow to greet the ambulance at a site about a mile down the trail. Mr. Rideout’s friend carried Mr. Rideout to the ambulance, and the unknown snowmobiler said he would drive the friend back to the scene to get his sled afterwards.
The unknown snowmobiler, his wife and the girl, did not show at the ambulance. The snowmobiler was driving a Rev Chassis, which is a new black and yellow Ski Doo, the girl was wearing a white snowmobile suit, and the wife said she was a school nurse, according to the witness.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Maine State Police at 1-800-482-0730.
Also on Saturday, a 23-year-old male snowmobiling on Great Pond in Cape Elizabeth crashed his sled. He suffered a fractured leg.
On Sunday, Jan. 6, a Garland teenager suffered a severe leg injury when he was trying to help his friend remove snow from his snowmobile’s tracks. Brandon Blanchette, either 18 or 19 years old, was transported by Dexter Rescue to the Dexter Airport and then was airlifted by LifeFlight to Eastern Maine Medical Center. His condition is unknown.
Mr. Blanchette was sledding with a friend near Pullen Road in Dexter when the friend complained that snow was bogging down the machine’s tracks, according to Warden Durwood Humphrey. The pair stopped, and with the studded tracks still running they picked up the sled in an attempt to spin off the snow. Mr. Blanchette was holding the front end, and he slipped and fell underneath the snowmobile.
At approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Daniel Jameson, 17, of Windham, was injured when he hit a snow-covered rock in a shallow part of Little Sebago Lake. Mr. Jameson apparently was driving between 50 and 65 miles per hour across the lake when he hit the rock. The impact sent Mr. Jameson and his sled more than 30 yards into the air, according to Warden Jason Luce. Mr. Jameson suffered multiple broken bones and was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
On Sunday, a 43-year-old woman, who was a passenger on a snowmobile driven by a 40-year-old man, told Wardens in Buxton that the pair hit a bump while riding and that she was experiencing back pain. She had at least three broken ribs and other injuries, according to Warden Luce. The incident remains under investigation.
On Sunday, a 16-year-old Newport male was hurt when the ATV he was on flipped in his parents’ driveway. The teen was taken to a Waterville hospital. His condition is unknown.
Posted by Tom Remington
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