IRONWOOD TWP., Mich. (WWJ) – A Wisconsin man has died after a snowmobile crash Sunday afternoon in Michigan’s Gogebic County, the westernmost county in the Upper Peninsula, along the Wisconsin border.
Officials with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources say Richard Reesman, a 73-year-old man from Burlington, Wisc., was riding his snowmobile with his wife around 1:45 p.m. Sunday when it missed a corner on a trail and struck a tree.
Reesman was pronounced dead at the scene, along Snowmobile Trail No. 160, near Lookout Mountain in Ironwood Township.
Reesman’s 71-year-old wife, Kathy, used her cell phone to report the crash to police in Ashland County, Wisconsin, near the Michigan border.
She was taken to a hospital after complaining of shoulder pain.
Agencies assisting conservation officers included the Gogebic County Sheriff’s Office, Iron County, Wisconsin Sheriff’s Office and the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission.
The DNR is urging snowmobilers to ride at speeds appropriate for conditions and abilities.
The department says excessive speed is the No. 1 cause of fatal and serious injury accidents on snowmobiles in Michigan.
Tips for “riding right” include slowing down, riding on the right side of the trail and riding sober. More information on snowmobile safety can be found on the DNR’s website.
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