Pond drowning victim identified by officials

WALES – A man who died after his sport utility vehicle crashed through the ice on Sabattus Pond on Saturday has been identified as Allan Johnson of Lewiston.

Divers on Sunday recovered Johnson’s body from the southern Maine pond after suspending the underwater search before dusk Saturday, said spokesman Mark Latti of the state Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department, which oversees the warden service.

When they returned Sunday morning, divers pulled Johnson’s body from his vehicle, which was under 17 feet of water.

The SUV broke through the ice despite warnings from two ice fishermen who signaled the driver away, said Latti. Several other vehicles were also on the lake at the time, and in places the ice was 15 inches thick, the spokesman said.

Johnson’s Ford Bronco broke through at a pressure ridge, a weak spot where two large sheets of ice collide. The vehicle slipped into the water off a section called Marrs Point in the northeast section of the lake, located between Greene and Wales in Androscoggin County.

Kevin Ouellette of Lewiston, who was ice fishing on the lake with Darren Brown, also of Lewiston, tried to wave the vehicle away but it continued forward, splashing into the icy water at around 3 p.m. Saturday.

Ouellette jumped onto the back of the Bronco as it sank and tried to break the windshield to free the driver. Johnson’s body was found in the vehicle’s rear hatch.