A Maine man died Friday night after the side-by-side ATV he was riding in fell through the ice.
Floyd Hardison, 88, of Waltham was ice fishing on Spring River Lake with his son and two grandsons Saturday before the accident occurred. According to Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife spokesperson Mark Latti, Hardison and his family were riding back to shore on a pair of side-by-side ATVs when the vehicle Hardison was riding in broke through the ice.
While Hardison’s adult grandson, who had been driving, was able to escape the ATV and crawl out onto the ice, Hardison was pulled down with the sinking vehicle.
Hardison’s body was recovered just over 2 hours later by a rescue team, assisted by the Maine Game Wardens and Hancock County first responders, Latti said. The body was still inside the ATV, which was about 10 feet underwater and 400 yards from the shore.
