CONTACT:
Conservation Officer Matthew Holmes
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
October 26, 2022
North Stratford, NH – On the afternoon of Tuesday, October 25, 2022, a young man from Vermont was seriously injured after crashing a UTV (utility terrain vehicle) at a construction site on private property. At approximately 2:00 p.m., the 18-year-old worker was utilizing a UTV to travel between areas of the construction site. While driving down a steep gravel road, the man lost control of his vehicle, went off of the road, hit an embankment, and rolled the UTV. As a result of the rollover, the operator was pinned to the ground by the roll cage of the machine.
At the time of the crash, the operator was en route to pick up another employee. When the driver did not show up, the employee called the property manager. The property manager subsequently picked up the employee and went looking for the missing man. The man involved in the crash was quickly located and dislodged from his entrapment. A 911 call was placed to start a rescue response, and other workers at the site began to arrive and assist at the scene.
Upon receiving the call for help, personnel from Groveton EMS, Stratford Fire Department, and a New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Conservation Officer began a response to the scene. Once on scene, EMS personnel made a call to get a DHART helicopter started to the scene, as the possibility for life-threatening injuries existed. Rescue personnel worked to stabilize the patient and transported him by ambulance to a near-by landing zone.
At approximately 3:20 p.m., the DHART helicopter arrived on scene. The patient was assessed by medics and quickly transferred from the ambulance to the helicopter for transport to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.
The cause of this crash is still under investigation. The name of the involved party is being withheld pending confirmation that his family has been notified. Although the extent of injuries were unknown while at the scene, authorities are optimistic that they will be found to be non-life-threatening.