ANSON — A 91-year-old man was seriously injured Thursday when his golf cart was struck by a pickup truck in North Anson, according to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.
Earl Viles suffered serious, life-threatening injuries in the crash, which was reported around 5 p.m., Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell said via telephone Friday.
Viles, who Mitchell believes lives in Anson, was driving a gas-powered Yamaha golf cart westbound on Valley Road, also known as Route 234, Mitchell said.
Investigators believe that Viles started to make a sudden U-turn near the intersection with Parlin Road, and was struck by a 2025 Ram pickup truck also heading west and driven by a 78-year-old Anson man, Mitchell said.
The Morning Sentinel is not naming the driver of the pickup because he has not been criminally charged.
Before the crash, the driver of the pickup truck had started to pass the golf cart and moved across the centerline, partially into the eastbound lane, Mitchell said. The driver was unable to stop before colliding with the turning golf cart.
Viles was thrown from the cart, which did not have seat belts or airbags, Mitchell said. The golf cart spun, landed in the middle of the road and was destroyed.
The truck, which was not seriously damaged, landed in a ditch, Mitchell said. The driver was not injured.
Viles was taken by ambulance to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan and flown to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, according to Mitchell.
His condition as of Friday morning was unknown; Mitchell said Viles’ suspected injuries included broken bones as well as internal injuries. A hospital spokesperson said they had no information to release Friday morning.
The crash remains under investigation, Mitchell said.
It is generally not legal to operate a golf cart on a roadway in Maine, Mitchell said. There are some exceptions, such as roads on islands if a municipality allows it.
Anson voters recently changed the town ordinances to allow ATVs on roads, Mitchell said. But most golf carts do not meet the specifications to be registered as an ATV, unless they are modified significantly, he said.
Mitchell said law enforcement has wide discretion in enforcing traffic rules and the Sheriff’s Office has no intention of issuing a citation to Viles.
Deputy Jack LePage is the primary investigator and was assisted by Sgt. Mathew Cunningham, Mitchell said. Sgt. Joseph Jackson forensically mapped the crash and Detective Michael Lyman reconstructed it.
The Anson Fire Department and the Anson-Madison-Starks Ambulance Service responded to the crash with the Sheriff’s Office, Mitchell said.
