Maine grandpa drowns when ATV driven by grandson plunges through icy lake

An 88-year-old grandpa died when the ATV he was riding on with his grandson broke through the ice at a Maine lake and plunged them into the frigid water.

Floyd Hardison had been ice fishing with his son and two grandsons at Spring River Lake in Hancock County on Friday when the family decided to pack up and head back to shore around 6 p.m., authorities said.

The grandfather and an adult grandson were on one all-terrain vehicle and the other grandson and their dad on another when Hardison’s ATV crashed through the ice about 400 yards from shore, according to Mark Latti, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The grandson driving the doomed ATV was able to climb back onto the ice and escape, but Hardison could not, officials said.

The elderly man’s body was found in 10-feet-deep water about two hours later by a firefighter in a wetsuit.

The Waltham man’s death is the latest incident related to treacherous conditions on ice in recent months in the northeast.

In late January, a Maine town manager drowned while rescuing his 4-year-old son after they both fell through the ice at Etna Pond.

A day later, two adults and three children survived when their vehicle crashed through the ice on Moose Pond in Denmark, Maine.

Also in January, a lobsterman heard faint desperate cries for help coming off the coast of Maine and helped local officials locate a missing man.

In December, a Vermont state trooper also jumped into an icy pond to save an 8-year-old girl who had been submerged for minutes.

The girl and her little sister plunged into the frigid waters while playing on thin ice on a pond located on private property.

While the 80-year-old homeowner was able to pull the younger girl to safety, the resident couldn’t rescue the 8-year-old and called 911. Everyone survived.

With Post wires