A Cumberland dogsledder was training when

he and his dogs

were hit.

LANCASTER, N.H. (AP) – A Berlin man pleaded guilty Monday to hitting a dogsledder with his snowmobile last winter, then fleeing.

Denis Lancey, 29, pleaded guilty in Coos County Superior Court to a felony charge of leaving the scene of the accident, a court clerk said. Jury selection in Lancey’s trial had been scheduled to begin Friday.

Steve Hessert, 51, of Cumberland, Maine, a competitive dogsledder, was training in northern New Hampshire for a 250-mile race last February when he was struck from behind. He managed to get into his sleeping bag after tying down his dogs.

Another snowmobiler, Todd Roy of Berlin, found Hessert unconscious and got him out of the woods on the dogsled.

Hessert was hospitalized and underwent multiple surgeries. He now has titanium rods in both legs.

Fish and Game officers said he was lucky to survive. The accident took place as darkness set in, with the temperature hovering around 15 degrees below zero.

Authorities have said Lancey drove home on his snowmobile, then sent his girlfriend to call 911 anonymously from a pay phone. Fish and Game officers also said he admitted to drinking alcohol that day.

The formal charge of “conduct after an accident” is a Class B felony with a possible sentence of 31/2 to 7 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

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