A helicopter from LifeFlight of Maine lands Saturday at the Moxie Lake Boat Landing, near The Forks, to transport the victim of an all-terrain vehicle crash to the hospital. The driver suffered head injuries after the ATV became airborne on the Bald Mountain Trail, about 10 miles east of The Forks and Caratunk. West Forks Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department photo

WEST FORKS — One person was injured Saturday afternoon in an all-terrain vehicle crash on a mountain trail in West Forks, officials say.

The crash occurred at about 2:30 p.m. on the Bald Mountain Trail, about 10 miles east of The Forks and Caratunk, when an ATV driver became airborne after hitting a pothole.

The operator of the ATV was bucked off the vehicle and suffered head trauma in the crash, according to fire officials.

After the ATV driver was first taken from the scene in an ambulance, a LifeFlight of Maine helicopter was called in to take the driver to the hospital “when the patient became less stable,” the West Forks Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department wrote in a statement.

“The ATV operator was navigating a large dip in the road when his ATV went up in the air, falling backwards and throwing him off,” according to the department. “The operator was not wearing a helmet and sustained head injuries.”

The patient’s condition and identity were not available Sunday afternoon.

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Bald Mountain Trail, a popular spot for off-roading and ATV riding, is near Lake Moxie, where the LifeFlight of Maine helicopter landed.

Driving to the trailhead requires traveling down several logging roads, according to alltrails.com, a website where users provide information on hiking and trails. The site notes that “the condition of these roads can change often.”

Along with the The West Forks Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, the Upper Kennebec Valley Ambulance Service and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife responded to the crash.

Officials used the crash as an opportunity to remind people to wear protective gear when riding an ATV, a motorcycle or other vehicles.

“Please remember to wear your helmets on your ATVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles, bicycles and dirt bikes!” rescue workers from West Forks wrote in the department’s statement.

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