2 Snowmobilers Die Following Separate Crashes in Northern Minnesota

Two snowmobilers have died following crashes that happened in northern Minnesota.

The first happened in rural Walker on Friday night. Cass County Sheriff Bryan Welk says a 50-year-old man from Corpus Christi, Texas was operating a snowmobile that left the roadway and struck a snow embankment and trees. The crash happened about 10 miles south of Walker along the section of the “C” snowmobile trail where it shares the roadway with 60th Avenue NW in Turtle Lake Township.

The man was taken by ambulance to a Park Rapids hospital where he was pronounced dead. Welk says alcohol is a suspected factor in the incident, and the crash remains under investigation. The victim’s name has not been released.

Another snowmobile crash near Park Rapids on Saturday night claimed the life of a 39-year-old Sauk Centre man. Authorities say Benjamin Hellerman was driving behind another snowmobiler when he collided with a fish house on Two Inlets Lake, which is located about 10 miles northwest of Park Rapids. He died a short time later.

No one was in the fish house at the time of the crash.