RANGELEY — Poor trail conditions this past weekend were cited in three three snowmobile crashes that resulted in broken bones, Maine Warden Scott M. Stevens said.
On Sunday afternoon, four teenage boys on snowmobiles left Bald Mountain Camps on Mooselookmeguntic Lake in Oquossoc and headed back to their camps in Rangeley via the Bald Mountain Trail, he said.
A 2013 Ski Doo driven by Aiden Clarke, 14, of Exeter, R.I., struck a depression similar to a water bar in the trail, went airborne and struck a hardwood tree on the edge of the trail, Stevens said.
Steve Philbrick of Bald Mountain Camps was first on the scene to assist the boys. Clarke suffered a broken femur, Stevens said.
Clarke was taken by the Rangeley Fire and Rescue Department and NorthStar EMS ambulance personnel to Oquossoc and then to Maine Medical Center in Portland by LifeFlight helicopter, Stevens said.
On Saturday, Stevens and Warden Brock Clukey responded to Connector Trail 117 on the south side of the Number Six Road in Byron. Lenny Hall, 28, of Mexico, was northbound on the trail when he struck a water bar, causing the sled to go airborne and leave the trail, Stevens said.
Hall suffered a broken forearm, he said. Two young snowmobilers happened on the scene and stayed with Hall until the wardens arrived, he said.
Hall was taken by Med-Care Ambulance personnel to Rumford Community Hospital.
Stevens also responded Sunday to a late report of a crash that occurred Saturday afternoon on ITS 86/89 near Grand Falls between Eustis and the Forks.
Benjamin Colomb, 52, of East Waterboro was a passenger on a 2011 Polaris driven by his wife, Deborah Colomb, Stevens said. They were traveling west from Grand Falls with friends when one ski struck a piece of exposed wood on the edge of the trail, causing her to lose control of the sled.
The snowmobile left the trail and struck a tree. Benjamin Colomb suffered broken ribs and Deborah Colomb had less severe injuries. They sought treatment on their own after leaving the area Sunday, he said.
Snowmobilers need to be aware that there are many more hazards on the trails this year due to the lack of snow, Stevens said. They are urged to make adjustments in their speed and operation to compensate for hazardous conditions.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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