CONTACT:
Conservation Officer Sgt. Matthew Holmes
603-788-4850
May 24, 2026

Gorham, NH– On the afternoon of Saturday, May 23, 2026, a New Hampshire woman was injured after crashing her ATV along the Presidential Rail Trail in Gorham.

At approximately 2:15 p.m., Christine Gillas, 59, of Hudson, New Hampshire, was riding personally owned ATVs with a group of friends heading southbound from Berlin into Gorham. At the time, dry conditions were causing large clouds of dust to hang in the air along the trails. While driving through the dust clouds, Gillas lost her view and got too close to the edge of the trail. The ATV that she was riding subsequently drifted off of the maintained trail and went down a steep embankment, throwing Gillas off the machine in the process. Following the crash, Gillas was immediately checked on by members of her riding group.

At the time of the crash, a New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Conservation Officer was in the area on an ATV conducting speed enforcement. A witness to the crash rode back and told the officer what they had seen. The officer immediately responded and assisted. After EMS had been notified, the officer gave Gillas a ride on his ATV out to Route 16 in Gorham. Once roadside, Gillas was picked up by Gorham Ambulance and taken to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin for treatment of significant but non-life-threatening injuries.

The investigating officer believes that inexperience and obstructed view were the major contributing causes of this crash.