A 16-year-old Whitefield boy died after the all-terrain vehicle he was operating collided with a station wagon in Whitefield at 7:09 p.m., Monday, June 23.
Maj. Ken Mason, of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, identified the boy as Ryan Mullens.
A 16-year-old girl, of South China, was driving the Subaru station wagon north on Howe Road, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Mullens was driving a Yamaha ATV north behind the station wagon.
The ATV entered the southbound lane to pass the Subaru. “As the ATV returned to the northbound lane, it crossed the Subaru’s path and both collided on the side of the roadway,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The ATV rolled and ejected Mullens, who was not wearing a helmet. An ambulance transported him to Maine General Hospital in Augusta, where he died of his injuries “a short time later,” according to the sheriff’s office.
The Subaru came to rest on the side of the road. The girl was not hurt.
The boy and the girl were friends, Lt. Michael Murphy said.
The boy had been driving the ATV alongside the station wagon for some time before he attempted to pass the vehicle and “cut too close,” Murphy said. The accident appears to have been the result of “an error in judgment,” he said.
The vehicles were not racing, Murphy said. “It was a very low-speed crash.”
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy 1st Class Mark Bridgham is the primary investigating officer. Sgt. Daniel Sceviour assisted at the scene. Sgt. Jason Nein, a crash reconstruction specialist, is conducting a reconstruction. The crash remains under investigation.
The Delta Ambulance Service and the Whitefield Fire Department also responded to the scene. The accident closed Howe Road to through traffic for about three hours.
