Accidents involving golf carts earlier this week in Casco and Frye Island have left one man dead and several others injured.

In the fatal incident that took place at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, at Point Sebago Resort in South Casco, John MacKay, 52, of Sanford, was thrown from a golf cart driven by Gary Belinsky, 59, of Westford, Mass..

Authorities said MacKay suffered head injuries in the crash and was transported by a LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center where he died Monday from his injuries.

Belinsky was arrested on scene by Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office for operating under the influence and has posted $300 bail from Cumberland County Jail. The accident is still under investigation with no further details being released, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office said.

In the other incident involving a golf cart, five people were transported by ambulance to Maine Medical Center after an extended golf cart carrying seven people careened out of control down a hill on Frye Island at about 6 p.m. Tuesday evening, July 30.

The golf cart’s brakes failed to work, either due to too much weight in the golf cart or some mechanical issue, Frye Island Police Chief Rod Beaulieu said Wednesday.

Beaulieu is still investigating the incident and not releasing names of the driver or the injured. He said the accident happened on the east side of the island along a dirt road that circles the island located in Sebago Lake.

“The cause is to be determined,” said Beaulieu, who is leading the investigation.

The accident involved island residents and people who were visiting the family. A total of seven people were in the cart. The visitors had arrived on the island about an hour before and were on a sightseeing trip in the cart when the accident happened, Beaulieu said.

Beaulieu said golf carts are a common mode of transportation on Frye Island and are granted an exemption from the state to travel on public ways since they are considered low-speed vehicles. Beaulieu said speed was a factor in the accident.

“But when I say speed was a factor, I don’t mean it was going 100 mph. I mean speed that is rated for the vehicle. The vehicle basically got away from the operator,” he said. “It wasn’t going at a high mile-per-hour rate but it was going high enough that the vehicle couldn’t be controlled. So, not to be confused with 60 mph. These golf carts are rated for 10-15 mph, and if you have that thing at 30-35 mph, it gets away from you.”

He said the cart was similar to airport terminal shuttles that feature several rows of seating.

“It was loaded with people. It was top-heavy. It was going down a long gradual grade on the island,” Beaulieu said. “The operator stated that she felt as though the brakes needed to be applied but the vehicle was not able to be slowed. It continued to gain speed. It got into a wobble side-to-side and it eventually flipped over.”

Two of the people – an adult and a teenager – were classified at the scene as having Priority 1 injuries, the most serious classification, Beaulieu said. First-responders called a LifeFlight helicopter, which was later called off when a paramedic and ambulances from Casco and Raymond responded. Frye Island rescue crews were on scene within two minutes, Beaulieu said.

The extent of injuries as of Wednesday morning were unknown, Beaulieu said.

Beaulieu said caution needs to be used when riding in a vehicle designed for limited use and low speeds.

“Golf carts were designed to play golf. They were designed to drive on a flat, level grassy fairway for 200 yards at a time,” he said. “They’re not designed to be motor vehicles. The state has allowed islanders to use them as low-speed vehicles but they’re still designed for golf.”

Rescue crews responded Tuesday evening to a golf cart crash on Frye Island that injured five of the seven occupants. It was one of two incidents involving golf carts in the lakes Region this week.Frye Island accidentGary Belinsky