A 14-year-old Shelburne, Mass., girl was seriously injured in an Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle accident at 1210 Bible Hill Road in Francestown Sunday afternoon.
Francestown Fire and Rescue along with Peterborough Ambulance responded at 1:35 p.m. to 1210 Bible Hill Road for a report of an OHRV accident with injury, Francestown Fire Chief Larry Kullgren said Monday morning.
“Apparently the two subjects were traversing a slop when the vehicle rolled over and both were thrown from the vehicle,” Kullgren said. “The 14-year-old female was thrown from the vehicle and the vehicle rolled on top of her.”
Bystanders removed the vehicle from the girl before rescue workers arrived, Kullgren said. The girl was unconscious and on the ground at that point, he said.
“She was laying on the ground with significant trauma. … She had significant life-threatening injuries due to the machine rolling over onto her,” Kullgren said.
No local police were available to respond to start an investigation into the crash, so Kullgren called in state police and Fish and Game, he said.
Brenda Greenwood, 49, of 1210 Bible Hill Road was the owner and operator of the Textron Stampede X Utility Vehicle.
“(Greenwood) was treated with non-life-threatening injuries at the scene,” Kullgren said. “The 14-year-old was the daughter of a friend that was at the residence and it appears that she was taking the friend of the daughter for a ride on the property when the accident occurred.”
Based on the seriousness of the girl’s injuries Kullgren requested the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART) helicopter respond. Bennington Fire Department sent an engine to assist at a landing zoning, a quarter mile from the scene at 96 Bible Hill Road Extension.
The girl was flown to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital in Lebanon with serious and life-threatening injuries.
“At this time her condition is unknown,” Kullgren said Monday morning.
“Neither occupant was wearing a helmet or were restrained by a seat belt,” Kullgren said. “If the occupants had been wearing helmets and seatbelts the outcome of this accident would have been quite different.”
“The accident is still under investigation by Conservation Officers and based on the preliminary investigation it appears that operator inexperience was a contributing factor in the roll-over,” Fish and Game said in a press release. “NH Fish and Game would like to remind all riders that anyone under the age of 18 must wear a helmet and eye protection when riding OHRVs. Although it is not required by law NH Fish and Game also recommends that all children under the age of 18 wear a seatbelt when riding in UTVs.”