A TOPSHAM MAN was airlifted to a trauma center in Lewiston after his snowmobile collided with another snowmobile in Tim Pond Township on Tuesday.

A TOPSHAM MAN was airlifted to a trauma center in Lewiston after his snowmobile collided with another snowmobile in Tim Pond Township on Tuesday.

TIM POND TOWNSHIP

Two men are in the hospital after a head-on snowmobile crash in Tim Pond Township.

The Maine Warden Service said that at around noon on Tuesday, Ryan Jones, 24, of Jefferson, was struck by Michael Ouellette, 52, of Topsham. Jones was approaching a curve on the trail when he was struck by Ouellette, who had entered the corner from the opposite direction at a high rate of speed.

Both men were seriously injured in the crash and the snowmobiles were badly damaged. Ouellette was transported by LifeFlight to a Lewiston trauma center. Jones was transported to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington for injuries to his shoulder and face.

Both men were wearing helmets. The crash remains under investigation by Maine Warden Service. It appears speed was a contributing factor in the crash.

Another man, 55-year-old Dean Dunton of Casco, was flown by LifeFlight to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston after he was ejected from a snowmobile around noon Tuesday in Casco. The Maine Warden Service says he was operating his 2003 Arctic Cat ZR900 on a section of trail when he struck some uneven packed snow.

With good conditions and thousands of people taking to the trails, Maine game wardens are urging snowmobilers to slow down. Contributing factors to many fatal and life threatening crashes in Maine continue to involve excessive speeds.

“Slow down and always provide plenty of time to stop or react to an unexpected object in the trail or an oncoming snowmobile,” a press release states. “Fines and jail time can result if snowmobile operators are found to be operating recklessly or too fast for the conditions. Ride safely and responsibly.”


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