Young snowmobiler injured in crash
Rescuers came to the help of an injured San Francisco boy who crashed his rental snowmobile into a tree off a trail southwest of Bend Thursday afternoon, officials said.
Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies were notified around 3:45 p.m. of the snowmobile crash near the intersection of trails 25 and 125B, west of Edison Sno-Park, said Deputy Jeff Winters, assistant SAR coordinator.
Four sheriff’s Search and Rescue volunteers and two Forest Service officers responded on snowmobiles, later assisted by Sunriver Fire medics, Winters said.
The responders got to the site around 4:30 p.m. and found a male juvenile rider had lost control of his machine, left the trail and struck a tree, Winters said.
The rider, who was being supervised by his parents at the time of the crash, complained of pain in his leg and hip areas, the deputy said.
After stabilizing the injured rider, SAR volunteers used an ambu-sled to take the boy to the parking area at Edison Sno-Park. Once there, the Sunriver medics transported him to St. Charles-Bend with non-life-threatening injuries.
Winters said an investigation found the youth on the rental snowmobile was part of a larger group. “Inexperience appeared to be the cause of the accident,” he added.
