Vineyard man in critical condition after fall from car roof

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A 21-year-old Vineyard man is in critical condition after he fell from a car roof in Edgartown. Edgartown Police were called to the intersection of Hotchkiss Lane and Meeting House Way at just after 5 pm Sunday and found a man in the road, according to Edgartown Police Chief Bruce McNamee. Police officers rendered first aid to the man until an EMS team arrived, McNamee said.

The man was reportedly picked up from a beach by two juvenile females in a Volkswagen Passat. At some point while the car was underway, the man climbed out of the car and onto its roof. The female operator reportedly yelled at him to get back inside and decelerated, McNamee said, whereupon the man slid or fell off the car. He was taken to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and then airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he’s in critical condition with a head injury as of Monday evening, McNamee said. Conflicting statements point to the possibility he also partially struck a telephone pole, McNamee said. 

Police have charged the driver with a junior operator violation (transporting passengers) and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Edgartown Police are working with Massachusetts State Police on the incident, McNamee noted. 

The name of the injured man hasn’t been disclosed, nor have the name of the operator or the other passenger.