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RICHFIELD — A Sevier County man who suffered "severe head trauma" after crashing his all-terrain vehicle Sunday afternoon could face DUI-related charges, authorities said.
Andrew Stanfill, of Elsinore, was taken by medical helicopter to a hospital in serious condition after the crash, said Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis. Stanfill is expected to recover.
Emergency crews responded to a report of a crash on a dirt road west of Richfield shortly after 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Curtis said nobody witnessed the crash, but investigators believe Stanfill was traveling too fast on a Polaris General, missed a turn and was ejected from the vehicle.
“There’s a spot that’s notorious (there). People come around it too fast, and I can’t tell you how many wrecks we’ve had at that turn,” Curtis said.
Paramedics opted to take Stanfill by helicopter because they were considered the bumps of the road could cause further head injury, Curtis said.
The man was not wearing a seat belt or helmet, authorities stated.
In addition to speed, investigators believe alcohol may have factored in the crash, Curtis said.
Authorities were unable to test the man’s blood-alcohol content at the scene; however, a Sevier County sheriff’s deputy reported he smelled a strong alcohol odor coming from the driver and there were “lots of beer cans at the scene,” Curtis said.
He added the Sevier County District Attorney’s Office would review the case before charges, if any, are filed against Stanfill.
