CONTACT:
Conservation Officer Levi Frye
603-738-4850
August 28, 2023
Berlin, NH – On Sunday afternoon at approximately 3:00 p.m., NH Fish and Game was notified of a single-vehicle UTV rollover on the Brook Road Trail in the Jericho Mountain State Park in Berlin involving two injured parties. The call came in via 911 and first responders from Berlin Fire Department, Berlin Ambulance, and Berlin Police responded to the scene. A Conservation Officer, who had been on patrol in Errol responded to Androscoggin Valley Hospital where the patients were transported, while Berlin Police Officers conducted an on-scene investigation and spoke with witnesses to the crash.
At the hospital, the Conservation Officer was able to speak with both involved parties as well as the witness to the incident. The patients, identified as Hanyu Li, 23, of Boston, MA, and Dezheng Hong, 26, of Quincy, MA, had been the operator and passenger of a rental UTV. Li, who was the operator of the machine, was riding second in a group of three machines and came down a steep downhill corner on Brook Road and over-corrected his machine to avoid going off the side of the trail. This caused his machine to flip multiple times and eventually strike a tree next to the trail. Members of the riding party rushed to the aid of Li and Hong and placed an emergency call.
Berlin Ambulance transported both patients to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin for serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. Both patients were wearing appropriate safety gear and seatbelts, preventing further serious injury than what occurred.
The interview of involved parties and on-scene investigation by the Berlin Police indicate that speed and inexperience are the main contributing causes in this incident as this was Li’s first time operating a UTV. Alcohol and drug intoxication were not factors in this crash.
NH Fish and Game would like to remind all operators to always ride within their limits and wear appropriate safety gear while doing so.