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Man killed in snowmobile accident

Paul Bickford
Northern News Services


Yellowknife (Jan 13/03) - A Lutsel K'e man was killed in a snowmobile accident near Murky Lake on Jan. 5.

The victim has been identified as 39-year-old Ernie Joseph Michel.

An RCMP investigation indicates Michel lost control of his snowmobile after hitting a rock. He was taken to the Lutsel K'e Health Centre by another snowmobiler, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Cathy Menard, the deputy chief coroner of the NWT, says Michel died of severe head injuries suffered in the accident, which occurred at about 10:20 p.m. Michel was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, according to Sgt. Phil Johnson, spokesman for the RCMP's "G" Division in Yellowknife. Johnson explains snowmobilers are not required to wear helmets under the territorial All-Terrain Vehicles Act. The act allows municipalities to enact bylaws on snowmobile safety, including the mandatory wearing of helmets.

However, Johnson encourages all snowmobilers to wear helmets wherever they are. "The RCMP's position is helmets are a safety device that should be worn at all times."

The sergeant says common sense indicates a helmet may have made a difference in the accident which claimed Michel's life.

Menard agrees, saying, "Wearing a helmet may have prevented the injuries from being so serious."

She notes that, following a 2000 snowmobile accident in Fort Good Hope in which three young men were killed, a report by chief coroner Percy Kinney called on the GNWT to legislate mandatory use of snowmobile helmets throughout the NWT.