Massachusett Man Flown When His ATV Crashes Into A Tree In NH

CAMBRIDGE, NH — New Hampshire Fish and Game are investigating an ATV accident that seriously injured a Massachusetts man on Sunday.

Conservation officers and EMS personnel from Errol Rescue responded to the Blackjack Trail in the town of Cambridge for a report of an ATV into a tree at about 10 a.m.

The operator, identified as Richard Saul, 45, of Worcester, MA, was operating in a group of six riders when the crash occurred. Members of his riding party had to ride out approximately a mile to gain cell phone coverage in order to make the 911 call. When EMS personnel arrived on the scene, it was determined the injuries were severe enough to request a helicopter med-evacuation.

The injured man was placed in the Errol Ambulance and transported to the Berlin Regional Airport where he was picked up by the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART) helicopter and flown to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.

When conservation officers arrived the victim had already been flown to the hospital. The subsequent investigation showed that Saul was traveling at an excessive speed and missed a slight curve in the trail. The ATV traveled several feet off the trail into the woods, the ATV was upright and wedged in the trees with Saul pinned underneath.

According to his riding companions, they did not witness the crash and when the group stopped at a junction and Saul did not arrive they went back to look for him. When they found him, he was calling out for help. Members of his party lifted the ATV off Saul and dragged him out from underneath the machine and waited for emergency responders.

Fish and Game said this is a good example to remind riders that the trail system in NH is not designed for going fast and the speed limit on most of the trails up north is set at a maximum of 25 miles per hour.