Snowmobiler hits utility guy wire, dies near Crescent

A 21-year-old man was killed Saturday when his snowmobile struck a power pole guy wire near Crescent, but a rider accompanying him was unharmed, Klamath County sheriff’s deputies said Sunday.

Jacob Charles McGarry of Philomath, currently living in Corvallis, was pronounced dead by emergency responders around 12:30 p.m. Saturday just south of Crescent, Lt. Randall Swan said.

McGarry was operating a snowmobile with a rider and traveling adjacent to the railroad tracks near Schoonover 1 and Riverview Street when he came in contact with the power pole guy wire, throwing him from the machine.

First responders from the sheriff’s office, U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement, Crescent Fire and Central Oregon Cascades Fire had to use ATVs and snow machines to reach the crash site, Swan said.

An AirLink helicopter crew also was called in to assist, but no patient transports were needed, the lieutenant said.

“The sheriff’s office extends its sympathies and condolences to McGarry’s family and loved ones,” Swan said in a news release.