A Massachusetts woman was killed and a man was seriously injured Saturday when an ATV they were riding crashed at a washed-out portion of the trail they were riding on, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
A state off-road vehicle program said some landowners have asked ATV Clubs to close trails because recent heavy rains have made them more dangerous and prone to erosion.
Abigail Divoll, 25, of Royalston, Massachusetts was a passenger in a side-by-side ATV in Coplin Plantation driven by Matthew Tolman, 26, of Hubbardstown, Massachusetts when Tolman drove into the washout and lost control of the vehicle. The pair were leading a group of three ATVs.
Divoll was killed in the crash, and Tolman was thrown from the vehicle and suffered a serious head injury, Mark Latti of Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said in a statement Sunday.
Neither Divoll nor Tolman was wearing a helmet, and it appears that speed and alcohol may have been factors in the crash, Latti said.
Tolman was flown by Lifeflight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
The crash is under investigation by the Maine Warden Service. More details will be released when available, Latti said.
Following one of the rainiest Junes in recent memory, some off-road vehicle trails are in poor shape. In the state’s Maine Off-Road Vehicles, Snowmobile, and ATV Trail Programs some clubs have been asked to temporarily close trails.
“Due to the recent wet weather, several clubs in the state have been advised by landowners to close their trails until the ground is less saturated,” read a Maine Off-Road Vehicles Facebook post Friday. “Please make sure to check with local clubs before you head out to ensure the trail system is open.” The program is part of the Maine State Department of Agriculture and Conservation.
The Sandy Rivers ATV Club of Strong will be closing trails, said Joe Rucinski, the club’s trail master. He recommends not riding until the ground dries out.
“The trails are wet, and of course, Jay, North Jay, and Wilton area suffered some real bad rainstorms the other day,” Rucinski said Sunday as heavy rain continued to fall. “We’re closing our trails tomorrow. We’re putting up signs.
“The ground is so saturated, if you get a lot of machines riding over it will loosen up the soil” and create too much erosion, he said. “So we’re closing trails until things dry out.”
One day a trail might be fine, but it could quickly develop a four-foot hole, he said. “I would stay off the trails and respect the landowners. Right now, riding will just make a mess.” If trails become damaged and landowners get upset, they’re liable to close them, he said.
One trail from Farmington to Wilton, called “The Whistle Stop,” is washed out in places and has deep ravines, Rucinski said. “You’d probably lose a four-wheeler in the ruts.”
On open trails, it’s important not to go fast, Rucinski said. “You don’t know what’s around the corner.”
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