Rockwood man listed in critical condition

ROCKWOOD – A local man who was injured when his snowmobile struck the blade of a snowplow almost two weeks ago is in critical condition at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

The condition of Ralph “Jim” Dunton, 47, had been serious but recently worsened and is now critical, a hospital official said Tuesday.

The Rockwood man suffered massive internal injuries including four broken ribs, two of which were broken in two places, in the Feb. 15 accident, according to Warden Mike Favreau of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Dunton had been snowmobiling on a private, unposted camp road behind the Moosehead Marina when his vehicle collided with a snowplow operated by a Greenville man. The snowplow operator, who was not plowing snow at the time, stopped his vehicle when he saw the snowmobile, but Dunton was traveling too fast to avoid hitting it, according to the warden.