Algoma suffers fourth snowmobile tragedy of the season

Another snowmobile tragedy has occurred in our area.

A 32-year-old man is dead after one of two snowmobile accidents that occurred Saturday in the Gros Cap-Red Rock area.

The man, whose identity has so far not been released by police, hit a tree and was pronounced dead at the scene.

His death is the second snowmachine fatality to occur so far this season in Algoma, adding to two other deaths of Saultites in out-of-town snowmobile crashes.

Saturday's tragedy was initially reported to police as a missing-person report at 11:36 p.m.

A search was immediately launched for the missing snowmobiler and at 3:20 a.m. Sunday he was located at the west end of Sunnyside Beach Road.

Police continue their investigation in that case.

Teenager knocked out in separate accident

Also on Saturday, a teenaged girl was taken unconscious to Sault Area Hospital after she was knocked out in a snowmobile accident in the airport area.

Emergency responders received a call around 3:52 p.m. that someone was unconscious on the Upper St. Marys River ice in the vicinity of the airport.

They found the girl near Nokomis Beach Road.

She'd been travelling south along the waterfront at considerable speed when she hit a large mound and was thrown backward off her sled.

The teen landed on the back of her head and was knocked unconscious by the impact.

She was taken by ambulance to Sault Area Hospital where she was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Three other deaths

On February 17, Vincenzo Spano, 52, of Leamington died after he lost control of his sled on the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs D107 Trail on St. Joseph Island and was thrown into a tree.

On March 5, 51-year-old John Kovala, of Sault Ste. Marie died after being struck by a snowmobile while skiing in Red Lake.

On February 7, Alynn Burke, a 24-year-old youth co-ordinator at Enterprise Centre Sault Ste. Marie, died after she was hit by a racing sled while watching the I-500. So many others were injured at this year's event that War Memorial Hospital served notive that anyone else injured would have to be driven to Canada for treatment.

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