MEXICO — A Mexico man was hospitalized Thursday night after police said he drove off Back Kingdom Road and struck a tree.
Richard Welch, 51, of Back Kingdom Road, was taken by Med-Care Ambulance to Rumford Hospital, where he remained as of Friday morning, Mexico police Lt. Roy Hodsdon said early Friday evening.
At 9:02 p.m. Hodsdon said Mexico police received a call from a Back Kingdom Road resident who said they heard a bang and a crash.
On arrival in the vicinity of 429 Back Kingdom Road, responders found Welch still inside his 2005 red Ford Taurus that was down an embankment.
“He had gone off the road backwards, and the rear of the vehicle hit a tree,” Hodsdon said.
He said Welch wasn’t wearing a safety belt and had been tossed out of the driver’s seat so that his torso was in the rear seat while his legs were still in the front seat. Welch suffered head injuries, he said.
“The force of the crash knocked him into the back seat and his head smacked off the rear of the front passenger seat,” Hodsdon said. “He was in and out of consciousness.”
The accident happened almost to the end of Back Kingdom Road. The winding road was completely reconstructed and paved earlier this year, Hodsdon said.
“Alcohol and speed were factors,” he said. “There was one spot of ice on the road, but (Mexico officer Dan Carrier) wasn’t sure if it was a factor. It was more a factor of speed. based on torn-up dirt at the scene.”
Initially, Rumford firefighters with hydraulic tools were called to assist Mexico firefighters in reaching the Taurus, Hodsdon said.
He said the totaled Ford was off the road by at least 10 feet. It was retrieved and towed by Adley’s of Rumford.
Charges are pending completion of the investigation, Hodsdon said.
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