JAY – A Jay man was listed in critical condition Monday afternoon at a Lewiston hospital after the skidder he was driving rolled down a steep hill on his property off Route 140 Monday morning.

Somehow Wayne “Spike” Whitehouse, 46, managed to get himself an estimated 300 yards to his house after he suffered severe head injuries, police Sgt. Troy Young said.

A family member called for an ambulance, Young said, and he and Detective Drew Hufnagel responded.

Young said the accident happened in woods just off the power lines where Whitehouse owns nearly 100 acres.

Whitehouse was ejected from the machine as the Franklin skidder rolled down a steep, rocky hill, Young said.

Whitehouse was taken by ambulance to a medical helicopter that was waiting at Jay Plaza on Route 4, Young said.

It took police a couple of hours to find the skidder, Young said.

First they followed skidder tracks to try to find it, but the tracks went all around and the skidder could not be found. Eventually, Hufnagel got an all-terrain vehicle and was able to locate the skidder.

Police are still unsure exactly how Whitehouse was hurt, Young said. They don’t know how many times the skidder rolled or if Whitehouse injured his head inside the cab of the skidder or outside of it.

The skidder landed upright, Young said.

Whitehouse was listed in critical condition at Central Maine Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said Monday.