Snowmobile crash on Mackinac Island

NEWS RELEASE

U.S. COAST GUARD

************************* Woman airlifted to safety from Mackinac Island MACKINAC ISLAND, MI - A helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Michigan, medically evacuated a woman who had been injured in a snowmobiling accident from Mackinaw Island Airport early Saturday morning at approximately 1:30 a.m.

The woman, who had unknown head injuries, received medical care by Mackinac Island emergency medical services prior to the helicopter's arrival.

The helicopter landed at Mackinac County Airport in St. Ignace, Michigan, to pick up an additional emergency medical technician prior to landing at Mackinac Island.

Petty Officer Jacob Harper, the Coast Guard member on duty at the air station who initially took the call for help and launched the helicopter, remarked about the dynamic actions that took place behind the scenes.

"The highly effective coordination between Mackinac Island EMS, St. Ignace EMS, Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste Marie, and this air station made rescuing this woman possible," said Harper. "Saving lives is a team effort."

The helicopter airlifted the woman to Mackinac County Airport in St. Ignace, where an awaiting ambulance took her to Mackinac Straits Hospital.

The Coast Guard Air Station in Traverse City operates five helicopters that conduct search and rescue operations for Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and the surrounding Great Lakes region.

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