Chesterton Tribune

 

 

DNR: Snowmobiler hurt in accident near Wolf Lake

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A Hammond man was seriously injured on Thursday in a snowmobile accident near Wolf Lake, just on the other side of the Illinois state line, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said.

The victim was identified as William Moen, 31.

According to the DNR, late Thursday evening Moen was traveling southbound at a high rate of speed along a Wolf Lake access lane, 150 feet inside Illinois, when for unknown reasons he failed to negotiate a curve, struck a guard rail, and was launched from his Yamaha Phaser approximately 35 feet across an ice-covered channel.

Conservation officers were dispatched to the scene to assist EMS personnel, who “were having difficulty reaching the victim due to the remove area of the crash,” the DNR said. “Once conservation officers arrived on scene they traveled through deep snow to the crash site utilizing a snowmobile and off-road utility vehicle.”

Moen was air-lifted to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill., where he underwent surgery for a broken pelvis, fractured lower back, and internal bleeding.

“Moen's helmet was found spilt in half,” the DNR said. “The helmet saved him from a serious head injury and most likely his life.”

After Indiana conservation officers determined that the crash occurred in Illinois, the investigation was turned over to that state’s DNR.

 

 

Posted 3/2/2015

 
 

 

 

 

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