WILTON — A local man is in critical condition after he was thrown from the personal watercraft that he was operating Thursday at Wilson Pond.

The Maine Warden Service is investigating a boating crash that sent a Wilton man to the hospital where he remains in critical condition, Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said in a news release.

Bertrand Poisson, 47, was operating his recently purchased 2024 Ski Doo on Wilson Pond at about 5:30 p.m. Poisson had little experience operating personal watercraft but was operating it at high speeds and traveling in a back-and-forth serpentine fashion, Latti said.

At one point as he was turning, he was thrown off the watercraft and tumbled across the water at high speed, he said.

Poisson immediately began yelling for help and several boaters and witnesses responded. They were able to pull him from the water and take him to the Wilson Pond boat landing. Emergency medical personnel attended to him there and performed life saving measures as he struggled to breathe, Latti said.

Bertrand was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston where he remains in critical condition.

“The initial investigation reveals that speed, alcohol and marijuana appear to have contributed to the crash,” Latti said. “The crash remains under investigation.”

The Maine Warden Service was assisted in the incident by the Wilton Police Department, North Star EMS ambulance personnel and emergency medical personnel from LifeFlight. LifeFlight of Maine did respond to the scene but did not transport Poisson.