ATV breaks through ice and plunges into lake, killing 88-year-old fisherman in Maine

FRANKLIN, Maine (AP) — An 88-year-old man died when an all-terrain vehicle driven by his grandson broke through ice and plunged into a lake, officials said Saturday, the latest in a string of incidents linked to treacherous ice conditions in the state.

The grandson managed to escape and climb back onto the ice Friday evening, but Floyd Hardison, of Waltham, was trapped in the side-by-side ATV and drowned in 10 feet of water in Spring River Lake in Hancock County, game wardens said. Spring River Lake is between the towns of Franklin and Cherryfield.

Hardison had spent the day ice fishing with his son and two grandsons, and they were headed back to shore when the accident happened, said Mark Latti, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Hardison’s body was recovered about two hours later by a firefighter in a wetsuit.

On Jan. 26 the town manager of Carmel, west of Bangor, died after lifting his 4-year-old son to safety when they broke through ice on Etna Pond.

A day later, five people including three children survived when a utility vehicle crashed through ice on Moose Pond in Denmark, in southwestern Maine.