CONTACT:
Lieutenant Mark Ober
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
August 23, 2021
Columbia, NH – At approximately 2:30 p.m. on August 20, a New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Conservation Officer was notified of a utility-terrain vehicle (UTV) crash on the Cree Notch Lookout Trail in the town of Columbia. The operator of the UTV was transported out to Route 3 via South Jordan Hill Rd where a call to 911 was placed. Upon notification of the incident, members of the Colebrook Fire Department as well as personnel from the 45th Parallel Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responded.
The operator, identified as Wendell Kenison, 63, of Bradford, VT, was descending a steep section of the trail when he reportedly experienced an equipment malfunction that prevented him from stopping the machine. Kenison guided the UTV into a ditch to avoid crashing into trees, however he hit some rocks that sheared off his front suspension and one tire. Kenison and his wife, who was in the passenger seat, avoided serious injury because they were wearing helmets and were utilizing their safety belts.
Although not seriously hurt, Kenison did suffer a minor injury that required him to be transported to Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook for evaluation and treatment.
The closest Fish & Game Conservation Officer responded from over an hour away to investigate the incident. At this time the cause of the crash still remains under investigation.
No further information is available at this time.