Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Nahanni Butte (Dec 03/99) - At last word on Monday, a 17-year-old Alberta girl was in a coma in an Edmonton hospital after a snowmobile accident in Nahanni Butte Thursday evening.

The girl, visiting her grandmother who lives in the community, was riding a snowmobile with no brakes and she was not wearing a helmet, according to the RCMP. She was chasing a friend on another snowmobile when she lost control and slammed violently into the corner of a log cabin.

The girl suffered severe head injuries, according to investigating officer Const. Merle Carpenter of the Fort Liard detachment.

"She's in bad shape," he said. "They operated on her ... and removed a blood clot from her head."

Commenting on the incident, one community member said, "Everybody's pretty shocked around here."

The accident had occurred at approximately 8 p.m. A local air service flew in to pick up the injured girl. There were no lights on the runway so a number of snowmobiles were lined up to illuminate the area, allowing the plane to land. The girl was transported to Fort Simpson where a medevac plane was waiting to take her to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton.

Not only did the absence of a helmet contribute to the head injuries, it restricted her visibility, Carpenter noted.

"She couldn't see ... there was no place for her or the snowmachine to go except for straight in (to the corner of the cabin)," he said.

She had a 14-year-old female passenger behind her who escaped injury when the younger girl was thrown from the snowmobile prior to impact.

Carpenter couldn't assuredly say how fast the snowmobile was going. He did say there are no charges pending as the owner of the snowmobile warned the girls that the brakes were faulty.