SNOWMOBILER WITHOUT HELMET HITS TREE AT MIDNIGHT TODAY, IN SERIOUS CONDITION IN HOSPITAL

MUSKOKA LAKES — A snowmobiler who hit a tree about midnight Saturday, is in hospital in Toronto with life-threatening injuries.

Police say the 31-year-old man was not wearing a mandatory helmet at the time of the collision.

The OPP and Muskoka EMS responded to the single snowmobile collision Sunday Feb. 13 at 12:07 a.m.

They say it happened on Redwood Road in Muskoka Lakes Township, which is just west of Bala and the intersection of Hwy. 118 going to Port Carling. It is near Crane Island and the Sherwood Inn resort.

Police say the sled was travelling westbound when it left the roadway and collided with a tree, ejecting the driver from New Hamburg. He was transported to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto and has life threatening injuries.

The OPP technical collision investigators and collison reconstructionist attended the scene and conducted an investigation into the cause of the collision.

The driver of the Arctic Cat is the latest snowmobiler in the area this winter to hit a tree. A Skeleton Lake man, George Guppy, died last month in Burk’s Falls.

Police are reminding anyone who is operating a motorized snow vehicle to wear an approved snowmobile helmet.

On the province’s website it states: “If you are driving a snowmobile or riding one as a passenger, you must wear a snowmobile helmet that meets Ontario’s standards, with the chin strap securely fastened.”