ORR — A snowmobile crash on the Arrowhead State Trail north of Orr last week left one rider dead, marking the second fatal accident reported on the trail this winter.
According to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, first responders were dispatched at approximately 10:08 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, to a report of a single-vehicle snowmobile crash about 25 miles north of Orr.
Authorities said the rider had been traveling with a group when he became separated from the others. When he did not return, the group began searching and located the man roughly an hour later near his snowmobile.
Investigators believe the 29-year-old North Branch man failed to navigate a 90-degree corner on the trail and struck a tree. He was the only rider involved.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not yet been released pending notification of family.
The incident remains under investigation by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.
The crash was the second fatal snowmobile accident reported on the Arrowhead State Trail this winter.
On Feb. 3, 57-year-old Dave Iverson, a well-respected member of the Crane Lake area’s outdoor recreation community, was killed in a collision involving two snowmobiles about 20 miles north of Orr, also on the Arrowhead trail.
According to the sheriff’s office, the riders were traveling in opposite directions when the machines sideswiped while navigating a curve in the trail. Iverson was ejected and suffered fatal injuries.