It’s been a dangerous start to the snowmobile season in southwestern Ontario.
There’s been at least three fatal crashes in just the last few days of 2017.
On New Year’s Eve a 51-year-old man was killed in a collision near Tillsonburg.
Emergency workers were called to a wooded area along Baseline Road just before 8 p.m.
Todd Smith of Oxford Township was pronounced dead at the scene.
There was another fatal crash the same day in Wallaceburg. Police say a snowmobiler was killed and another person was seriously injured in a crash with an ATV.
On Thursday a 16-year-old Alma boy died in a snowmobile crash. Police say he hit a tree near the community of Elmvale. Speed and inexperience may have been factors in that crash.
But not all collisions this season have been fatal.
A 27-year-old Kitchener woman was airlifted to hospital Thursday after a crash in New Hamburg.
“She didn’t know the turn and lost it,” said her husband Justin Gomes. “That’s how fast it happened.”
The woman is still in the intensive care unit with serious injuries.
“She’s going to need implants for teeth and probably other things that are very expensive,” said Gomes. “I don’t have the funds or money to take care of that.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with the family’s bills.
Gomes says he’s grateful that his wife survived. He shared a photo of her in hospital to show others how serious snowmobile crashes can be.
Both Gomes and OPP want to warn snowmobilers about the importance of staying on trails you're familiar with and advise riders not to drive at night.
