Iron Range Man Flown to Hospital After Snowmobile Crash

PORTAGE TOWNSHIP., Minn. – An Iron Range man was transported to a hospital by helicopter on Friday, February 3 following a snowmobile crash in northern Minnesota.

The 24-year-old Virginia man was riding his snowmobile with friends on Trail 14 on the West Spur from Trail’s End Resort near the Vermillion River in Portage Twp.

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office took the 911 call of a snowmobile crash with injuries at approximately 11:14 p.m.

The man had been riding with a small group of family and friends when he lost control of his snowmobile while trying to negotiate a left hand curve at the bottom of a dip in the trail.

The snowmobile left the trail on the right side, went down a steep embankment, and struck a tree throwing the injured driver off of the snow machine.

The driver was ultimately removed from the crash site by rescue personnel, and flown by a North Memorial Air Care helicopter to St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s office, but initial indications are that speed may have played a role, however alcohol was not a factor in the crash.