Iron County snowmobile crash kills one Saturday

HURLEY — A man is dead following a snowmobile crash in Iron County this weekend.

Iron County Emergency Dispatch received a report of the snowmobile crash on Trail 14 off Game Management Road in the town of Knight at approximately 2:30 p.m. Saturday, with reports that those on the scene were attempting life saving measures on an unresponsive man.

Both the Hurley and Mercer snowmobile rescue units — along with Mercer Area Ambulance and Rescue — were initially dispatched to the scene, according to Iron County Sheriff Paul Samardich, due to difficulty in obtaining an exact location of the crash site.

The Hurley snowmobile rescue unit was canceled once the location of the accident was pinpointed, Samardich said.

First responders arriving on the scene continued life saving efforts, however, they were unsuccessful.

Iron County Coroner Diane Simonich pronounced the 41-year-old man dead at the scene at 4:50 p.m., according to Samardich, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources responded to the scene.

The name of the man is being withheld, pending notification of his family.

Samardich said it appears the lead snowmobile in a group of sleds veered off the trail and struck several trees. It was the only snowmobile involved in the accident.

The Iron County Sheriff’s Office, coroner’s office and DNR are continuing to investigate the accident.

—Richard Jenkins