AVON – Two men were taken to hospitals after an ATV they were riding struck a dump truck on a private dirt road Friday morning.
Ben Poland, 18, of Phillips, was listed in critical condition Friday evening at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, a spokesman said. His passenger, Albert Bryant, 20, of Avon, was treated at Franklin Memorial Hospital and released, according to a spokeswoman.
Poland was driving the ATV on a 13-foot-wide private dirt road off Avon Valley Road when he rounded a corner and drove head-on into the side of the dump truck, Maine Warden Service spokesman Mark Latti said.
The truck driver, Rupert Potter, 57, of Phillips, was not hurt.
Poland was not wearing a helmet; Bryant was.
“It wasn’t a glancing blow,” said Latti of the collision. “The speed of the ATV appears to be a major factor in the accident,” he added.
The dump truck was doing work on the dirt road on private land and it is unknown if the ATV riders had permission to operate on the property, as required by law. The Warden Service is investigating the incident.
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