Press Releases

Contact: Edie Smith, Spokesperson
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
284 State Street
41 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333


Telephone: work (207) 592-4348

Fax: (207) 287-6395

May 11, 2009

Man working on Census seriously injured in ATV incident

Allagash, Maine - A 55-year-old man attempting to document camps as part of the U.S. Census was seriously injured on Friday when his ATV rolled over on him.

Rodney Thibodeau, 55, of St. Francis and his wife were using 4-wheelers on Friday to document camps in the Allagash, north of the St. John River and Dickey Checkpoint, as part of the U.S. Census.

Mr. Thibodeau was attempting to operate his Polaris 4-wheeler through a washout in a branch road off of Johnson Brook Road. As he maneuvered up the opposite side the wheeler rolled over onto him causing extensive injuries to his face and head.

The incident was reported to the Maine Warden Service at approximately 11:55 a.m. on Friday. Wardens Alan Dudley and Jeff Spencer responded.

Mr. Thibodeau was transported by personal vehicle out of the woods and emergency services were contacted from a residence in Allagash. An ambulance met the victim en route to the hospital in St. Francis and transported him to Northern Maine Medical Center.
Later Mr. Thibodeau was transported by LifeFlight to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Mr. Thibodeau remains in serious condition at EMMC. He was not wearing a helmet.