Three die when snowmobiles go through ice
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The scene of a fatal snowmobile accident on Lake Dunmore in Salisbury on Saturday. Courtesy of WCAX News |
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By JOSH O'GORMAN
STAFF WRITER - Published: January 10, 2010
SALISBURY — Three family members died Saturday when the snowmobiles they were riding plunged through the ice and into the freezing water of Lake Dunmore.
Police said Kevin Flynn, 50, of Whiting, was operating a snowmobile about 200 yards offshore from the boat launch on West Shore Road when he and his passenger, 6-year-old Jeremiah Popp of Brandon, went though the ice about noon.
Flynn's daughter, Carrie L. Flynn, 24, of Whiting, who was operating a second snowmobile with Kevin Flynn's granddaughter Bryanna Popp, 3, also went through the ice. Kevin Flynn's wife, Terry Flynn, 47, was operating a third snowmobile with a 4-year-old passenger. Terry Flynn was able to push her passenger to safety before she and her sled fell through the ice.
Kevin Flynn, Carrie Flynn and Bryanna Popp were pronounced dead at Porter Medical Center in Middlebury.
Foster Provencher, first assistant fire chief for the Salisbury Volunteer Fire Department, was one of the first people to respond to the scene.
"I grabbed a couple of 100-yard ropes. Another person showed up with a ladder and there was somebody else with a roof rake," Provencher said.
Provencher said the three sleds were not close together when they went through the ice, but were spread out over a 200-yard distance.
One responder used the roof rake to rescue Jeremiah Popp, Provencher said. Responders also rescued Terry Flynn, police said.
"It was just a very, very tragic accident for some people who were out to have a good time," said Middlebury Fire Chief Rick Cole, who was on the scene.
Salisbury is an Addison County town located between Brandon and Middlebury.
The snowmobiles in Saturday's accident punctured the ice in three places, according to Cole, who said the bodies of Kevin Flynn and Carrie Flynn were pulled from the water near two of the holes by rescuers using ropes.
About 25 people participated in the rescue and recovery efforts, working from a canoe and a small island near where the snowmobiles went in, Cole said.
"It was a situation where we had to be very careful with the ice," Cole said. "We had three through and we didn't want any more."
The victims' bodies will be taken to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Burlington for autopsies.
Conrad Stewart, Addison County director for the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, said they should not have been out on the ice.
"The trail stops at the ice and you're not supposed to go out on the ice but you can't stop them," Stewart said. "With the springs in the lake, (the ice) doesn't get too thick everywhere."
Police contacted VAST and asked the group to post warnings on the trails near the lake.
"Certainly this time of year ice is unsafe everywhere," said VAST President Jim Hill. "We're going to look at all trails that lead to ice and put up warnings so they can turn before the ice."
Saturday's incident brings the snowmobile death toll in the state to six for this winter.
On Dec. 24, a 46-year-old Eden woman died when she hit a tree; Dec. 29, a New York woman died after hitting a tree in West Windsor and Jan. 2, an 18-year-old Readsboro woman died after she fell off a snowmobile and was hit by a another sled.
"My condolences go out to the family," Hill said. "We've had too many deaths already."
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
The Associated press contributed to this story
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