MN sees dramatic rise in snowmobiling fatalities
Posted at: 02/23/2010 7:43 PM
By: Susanna Song & Jacob Kittilstad
Luke Rasset left a New Germany bar Saturday night with a friend, both traveling home on separate snowmobiles. As Rasset drove, he manuevered on and off the trail.
"(It's) even more of a tragedy because they were out having fun, on a lake at a fishing contest, having fun. And fun turns into tragedy," Olson said.
According to the Department of Natural Resources, Rasset was the seventeenth person to die on a snowmobile in Minnesota this winter.
The number represents a significant increase in the number of snowmobile deaths.
According to the DNR, ten people died last winter and nine died two winters ago.
The DNR attributes this
increase to more people going snowmobiling because of this year's excellent snow conditions.However, Olson said Rasset's accident was completely preventable.
"Combination of lighting, time of day, speed and alcohol are possible contributing factors," Olson said.
According to the DNR, the majority of snowmobile related deaths come from the factors described by Olson. Seventy percent of fatalities are alcohol-related.
Rasset's family said Luke loved trying new things and the word "bored" didn't exist in his world.
"His passing has left a huge hole in everyone's life that he had touched," according to a written statement from Rasset's family.
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