N.H. man sentenced to jail after leaving injured dog sledder

LANCASTER, N.H. – A Berlin snowmobiler has been sent to jail for a year after pleading guilty to leaving a severely injured dog sledder on a trail after running into him last February.

Denis Lancey, 29, was sentenced Monday after prosecutors and his lawyers revised a plea agreement that sends him to jail and bans him from driving a snowmobile while on probation for a year after he’s released.

He also would need to pay up to $2,000 in personal property damage beyond what his insurance covers.

Lancey pleaded guilty last month in Coos County Superior Court to a felony charge of conduct after an accident.

Judge Steven Houran rejected the initial plea because it did not include a probation period or any restitution. At the request of the dog sledder, Stephen Hessert, the second plea also included prohibiting Lancey from operating any kind of off-road vehicle.

Hessert, 51, of Cumberland, Maine, was hit from behind and left on the trail, when the temperature was more than 20 below zero. He said Lancey’s decision to leave him was a decision to let him die.

“I am angry about the accident, but the amount of time [Lancey] will serve in jail won’t impact the use of my legs,” said Hessert, who has had five surgeries since the accident to repair his legs. He walks with two canes.

Hessert was training in northern New Hampshire for a 250-mile race when he was struck from behind. He managed to get into his sleeping bag after tying down his dogs. Another snowmobile found Hessert unconscious and got him out of the woods on the dogsled.

Authorities have said Lancey drove home on his snowmobile, then sent his girlfriend to call 911 anonymously from a pay phone. Fish and Game officers also said he admitted to drinking alcohol that day.

Lancey did not speak during the hearing.

“He is remorseful,” said his attorney, Wayne Moynihan.