CONTACT:
Conservation Officer Levi Frye
603-788-4850
September 5, 2023
Millsfield, NH – On Friday September 1, 2023 at approximately 9:30 p.m., NH Fish and Game was notified of a single vehicle UTV crash on Millsfield Pond Road in the town of Millsfield.
The 911 caller explained that the operator, identified later as Joshua Whittier, 23, of Barnstead, NH, was being transported by private vehicle to Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook for injuries after rolling his machine on a section of the trail.
After investigation of the scene as well as an interview of Whittier, a Fish and Game Conservation Officer determined that while navigating Millsfield Pond Road at approximately 8:30 p.m., Whittier reportedly lost the use of the headlights on his machine. He reacted by braking abruptly which resulted in his UTV rolling over. He received assistance from other riders on the trail and was transported by family to the hospital and a 911 call was placed.
Conservation Officers determined that the time Whittier was operating was beyond the legal time limit to operate OHRVs on public trails, which is ½ hour past sunset, and that speed was the biggest contributing cause in the crash. A summons for unreasonable speed was issued to Whittier by the investigator. Alcohol and drugs are not considered factors.
NH Fish and Game would like to remind all operators to ride within their limits and always be mindful of legal times of operation while recreating on New Hampshire’s trails.