(FLORENCE COUNTY, WI.)–On Monday at 10:57am, a snowmobile crash with injuries was reported on the Pine River between Lake Ellwood and County Highway N in a section of State Wild Rivers property. According to Florence County Sheriff, Jeff Rickaby, two snowmobilers had travelled from the Menominee River then up the Pine River an unknown distance. A 55-year old Iron Mountain man’s snowmobile struck a large ice andsnow covered rock at approximately 60-miles per hour, causing him and his snowmobile to roll over several times before coming to rest 300-feet from the initial impact. The second snowmobile operator was unfamiliar with the area, being his first time riding on the river. The sheriff said, “Using the GPS coordinates from the 911 cell phone call which was initially received by the Dickinson County Sheriff’s 911 Center, we were able to plot the location on a map and send emergency responders to the general area, a remote section of river more than a mile upstream from the nearest access point.” Responders from the Sheriff’s Office, Florence Fire, Florence Rescue, Aurora Rescue and Beacon Ambulance Service, were able to reach the victim 57-minutes later. Responders used a UTV along with the assistance of passing snowmobilers to reach the scene. The victim was transported to Dickinson County Memorial Hospital suffering head and arm injuries. Air medical resources were unable to fly due to weather conditions at the time.
(Aaron Harper,WJNR,WOBE,WHTO)
aaronharper22@gmail.com