A 40-year-old woman from Penobscot County was killed Saturday night in an ATV crash in Lincoln, just one of several ATV accidents and injured hiker rescues that kept game wardens busy this weekend.
Shannon Brewer of Corinna crashed while driving an ATV around 8:30 p.m. on Pierce Webber Road in Lincoln, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said in a news release Sunday.
Brewer was driving a 2020 Can-Am Maverick 1000 side-by-side with the vehicle’s owner, Michael Martin, when she lost control near a four-way intersection. The ATV skidded more than 50 feet before rolling against a tree. Brewer was pinned between the tree and the vehicle, and Martin was unable to free her. She died at the scene, despite the efforts of the Maine Warden Service, Lincoln Ambulance, and Lincoln police.
The crash is still under investigation. Game wardens said that excessive speed, inexperience and “possibly alcohol” were factors in the crash. They did not specify how they knew or suspected alcohol was involved.
“This was definitely a very busy weekend, busier than usual,” Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said Sunday evening.
Latti said there appears to be more people participating in outdoor recreational activities, most likely because of the restrictions placed on them by COVID-19, but he was unable to provide real-time license sales data.
“Use is definitely up judging by parking lots at our boat ramps and wildlife management areas,” Latti said.
In addition to the fatal ATV crash in Lincoln, game wardens responded to several other emergencies over the weekend.
In Weld on Saturday night, Damon Thomas, 44, of Portland had to be carried from the summit of Tumbledown Mountain down the length of the Brook Trail after he injured his ankle at approximately 6 p.m. After reaching the base of the mountain around 10:30 p.m., Thomas was taken by ambulance to Franklin Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Kelly Dymond, 41, of Turner, Kristin Schrepper, 32, of Rumford, and Sylvie Long, 48, of Lewiston were rescued from kayaks on the Dead River in Eustis after calling for help in a shallow, rocky stretch. The women intended to kayak to Flagstaff Lake, but became exhausted after being forced to drag their kayaks over rocks.
They called 911 for help around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Emergency dispatchers pinpointed their GPS location through their cellphone. A game warden gave them directions and met them. Warden Scott Stevens then gave the women a ride to their truck. They did not need medical assistance.
Around 7 p.m. Saturday, Olson Staples, 22, of Standish and a passenger, Mariah Folsom, 22, of Steep Falls, crashed their ATV near the Milt Brown Road in Standish. Folsom was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland with hip and leg injuries, wardens said. The warden service said their ATV’s throttle became stuck, causing them to travel about 100 yards before it crashed and rolled over. Both riders were wearing helmets. Staples was not seriously injured.
Sonya Oliver, 22, of Westport, Massachusetts, and Michael Menard, 25, of Tiverton, Rhode Island, suffered minor injuries in another ATV roll-over that took place Saturday afternoon in Kingsbury Plantation in Piscataquis County. Oliver and Menard were treated at the scene of the crash and did not need to be hospitalized.
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