FARMINGTON — A Jay woman was injured Wednesday afternoon when the ATV she was a passenger on hit two trees and rolled down an embankment on a trail near the parking lot for the multi-use Whistle Stop Trail, according to Cpl. John MacDonald of Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The driver of the ATV “allegedly fled the scene but was soon located by Farmington police,” MacDonald wrote in an email.

Farmington police Sgt. Edward Hastings IV used the Fire Rescue Department’s side-by-side to look for the driver, Farmington Deputy Police Chief Shane Cote said Friday. Officer Jesse Clements stayed with the passenger, Jennifer Dalton, 36, of Jay. Hastings found the alleged driver, Christopher Martin, 36, of Livermore Falls, walking on the trail, Cote said.

Dalton was taken by a NorthStar EMS ambulance to Franklin Memorial Hospital “due to head injuries sustained after the ATV hit two trees and rolled down an embankment,” according to MacDonald.

Warden Ethan Buuck charged Martin with operating an ATV under the influence (of an intoxicating beverage) and operating an unregistered ATV.

No helmets were being worn at the time of the incident, according to MacDonald. Farmington Fire Rescue Department also assisted at the scene of the crash reported at 4:40 p.m.

“This crash remains under investigation by game wardens,” MacDonald said.

It is at least the third accident in the past year that occurred on the trail, which is about 14 miles long and runs from Jay to Farmington. It is a former railroad bed.

In May, a mother and son were injured on the trail when the ATV they were riding on went off a bridge over the Hardy Brook in Farmington. In August 2019, a Wilton man was injured when the ATV he was driving hit a railing and went off an old trestle bridge on the trail and landed 15 feet down on rocks in Wilton.

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