Officials are investigating a snowmobile accident in Eustis, Maine, that left a Kingfield man seriously injured.
According to the Maine Warden Service, the incident occurred Sunday morning when 50-year-old Birch Royall was operating a snowmobile on the Hyde Trail. Royall reportedly failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection with Flagstaff Road.
Authorities indicated that Royall was traveling at speeds between 60 and 70 mph when he entered the roadway, subsequently crashing his snowmobile into the driver’s side of a westbound pickup truck.
Emergency responders transported Royall by ambulance to Carrabassett Valley Airport. He was then airlifted by a LifeFlight helicopter to a hospital in Bangor. Officials have not yet released Royall’s current medical condition.
The driver of the pickup truck was unharmed. Investigators from the Maine Warden Service were assisted at the scene by the Eustis Fire Department and NorthStar Ambulance. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have not yet determined whether speed or other factors contributed to the crash.
