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Maine Sees First Snowmobile Fatality of 2019

JACKMAN, Maine - A man was killed Saturday afternoon near the western Maine town of Jackman in the first snowmobile fatality of the season.

Corporal John MacDonald with the Maine Warden Service says 57 year old Brian Sylvester was riding across Long Pond when he apparently struck a large snow drift.

Sylvester was ejected from the machine and onto the rugged surface of the ice.

MacDonald says Sylvester was not wearing a helmet.

The state typically sees five or six snowmobile fatalities each year, says MacDonald, with the majority of such incidents linked to speed, riding in dangerous terrain, alcohol use, or failure to observe safety protocols.